In The Know: Selecting the next Chief Justice

Section 7, Article VIII, of the Constitution requires that a Supreme Court justice be a natural-born Filipino, at least 40 years old and must have been a judge of a lower court or engaged in the practice of law in the country for at least 15 years.
The Constitution also requires that a member of the judiciary “must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity and independence.”
The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has the primary function of recommending appointees to the judiciary, as required under Section 8, Article VIII, of the Constitution.
The JBC is composed of the Chief Justice as ex officio chairman, the secretary of justice, and a representative of the Congress as ex officio members, a representative of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, a professor of law, a retired justice of the Supreme Court and a representative of the private sector.
In fulfillment of its function, the JBC submits to the President a list of at least three nominees for every vacancy in the judiciary. From this list, the President makes his choice.
A vacancy on the Supreme Court must be filled within 90 days from its occurrence.
The selection process for nominees for judicial offices, including that of Chief Justice, is specific:
The JBC first announces the vacancy, and an active, nationwide search for candidates follows. Applications and recommendations are submitted to the JBC secretariat.
The applicants are evaluated based on their qualifications and background. They also undergo physical and psychological examinations.
A notice about the candidates is published by the JBC secretary in two newspapers. The notice informs the public that any complaint against a candidate may be filed with the secretary within 10 days.
The candidates concerned have five days from receipt of the complaints to file their comments.
Those who pass the initial screening are interviewed by the JBC.
The council subsequently meets for the final deliberation to choose the  candidates to be recommended to the President.
To be considered a nominee, a candidate must obtain the affirmative votes of the majority of the JBC members. On the question of integrity, a candidate is automatically disqualified on the negative vote of even just one JBC member.

Credits : Current Events in Philippines

Corona will appear at Senate trial Friday

MANILA, Philippines—Chief Justice Renato Corona, together with his doctor, will appear at the impeachment trial on Friday.
This is what lead defense lawyer Serafin Cuevas told reporters at The Medical City hospital in Pasig City when asked if Corona will continue his testimony.
Cuevas had just visited Corona when reporters approached him.
He said Corona was “incoherent” and hooked up to a dextrose intravenous drip.
Despite this, Cuevas said, the chief justice will be present at the trial on Friday.
Son confirms
The Chief Justice’s son, musician Francis “Frank” Corona, confirmed the conversation between his father and Cuevas.
“Whatever Justice Cuevas said is what my father said to him,” Francis said in a text message to INQUIRER.net.
However, contrary to what Cuevas earlier said of Corona being “incoherent,” Francis said his father is in a stable condition.
“He is getting better already.”

Current Events in Philippines

Complete Acquittal from the Articles

As the Impeachment Trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona continuous, more and more articles are being withdrawn from the prosecution due to the lack of supporting evidences which will point to the Chief Justice’s involvement in many of his allegations.

However, a mere withdrawal of 5 out of 9 articles is not enough for the defense to ensure that the same articles would not be used again. And so the camp of the Chief Justice plans to seek acquittal of not just one article, but all 5 articles of impeachment filed against him by the prosecution.

Complete Acquittal from the Articles Corona’s lawyer, Ramon Esguerra, feared that if Articles 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8 were simply withdrawn “without prejudice,” then the allegations contained in the articles could be used again in filing another impeachment case against the Chief Justice after the one-year ban for filing lapses.

“[If it is] dismissed with prejudice, I think we can agree with that…They can’t refile anything on this five articles anymore…If it will amount to an acquittal, then that’s fine with us. But if you’re saying: No, we’re withdrawing this without prejudice to refiling them from December or after the one year, that’s different. How can we agree to that?” Esguerra said over a phone interview on Wednesday.

For this reason, Esguerra said the defense team would first seek a clarification from the prosecution team whether they were withdrawing the five articles with or without prejudice.

And if the prosecution team decides to withdraw the allegations without prejudice, then Corona’s camp will present evidence to seek the acquittal of the Chief Justice on the five articles of impeachment.

“We might as well present evidence on the five articles so that there will also be a ruling ultimately by the Senate sitting as an impeachment court on the five articles not only the three. That’s just fair,” he said.
“You can’t just go to court and say: You know, I’m accusing you of 10 counts but I’m withdrawing nine [and] I will stick to one,” Esguerra added.

According to latest Philippines Current Events, this statement was submitted after the prosecution rested its case against Corona after presenting only evidence and witnesses for only three of eight articles in the impeachment complaint.

According to Philippines News Today, the three articles submitted for decision to the Senate impeachment court were Article II pertaining to Corona’s alleged non-disclosure of statement of assets, liabilities and net worth, Article III on his alleged lack of proven competence, probity, integrity and independence and Article VII pertaining to his alleged “partiality” in the granting of a temporary restraining order on the government’s watchlist order against former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last November 15.