President Rodrigo Duterte is set to pick who among the six names in the shortlist will fill the seat vacated by Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta in the Supreme Court (SC).
The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), which is tasked under the Constitution to screen applicants for the judiciary, has already submitted on December 20 the shortlist to Malacanang.
Those who made it to the shortlist are Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez and Court of Appeals (CA) Manuel Barrios, Samuel Gaerlan, Ramon Garcia, Jhosep Lopez, and Eduardo Peralta Jr.
The JBC opened applications for the post after Peralta vacated the SC seat following his appointment as chief justice in October.
There were a total of 15 who applied for the post.
The others who applied but did not make to the shortlist are Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje Tang, Anti-Red Tape Authority Deputy Director General Ernesto V. Perez, and CA Associate Justices Ramon A. Cruz, Pablito A. Perez, Maria Filomena D. Singh, Oscar V. Badelles, Ramon M. Bato Jr., Apolinario D. Bruselas Jr., and Ricardo R. Rosario.
