Judicial and Bar Council
The Judicial and Bar Council of the Philippines is a constitutionally-created body that recommends appointees for vacancies that may arise in the composition of the Supreme Court and other lower courts.
Composition
The Council is composed of a representative of the Integrated Bar, a professor of law, a retired member of the Supreme Court, and a representative of the private sector. They are the "regular" members, as opposed to the Secretary of Justice and a representative of Congress who are the ex officio members. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is the ex officio chairman,[1] while the Clerk of the Supreme Court shall serve as the ex officio secretary.[2]
The regular members would be nominated by the President with the consent of the Commission on Appointments for a term of four years. However, since the terms will be staggered, the first set of members would a different lengths of service: the representative of the Integrated Bar shall serve for four years, the professor of law for three years, the retired Justice for two years, and the representative of the private sector for one year.[3] The following members shall be given the full four-year term.
In 2012, a petition at the Supreme Court questioned on who should occupy the seat allocated for Congress. Currently, there are two members of Congress in the council: the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Justice and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights.[4] The Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that there should only be one member of the JBC from Congress; the court left to Congress whom among the two would be its representative to the JBC.[5]
The council is the only government body that has members from all three branches of the government, excluding ad hoc and advisory bodies.
Current membership
The members of the Judicial and Bar Council are:
Ex officio chairman
Ex officio members
- Vitaliano Aguirre II - Secretary of Justice
- Richard Gordon (incumbent Senator and Chairman, Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights)
- Reynaldo Umali (incumbent Congressman and Chairman, House Committee on Justice)
Regular members
- Ma. Milagros Fernan-Cayosa - Integrated Bar representative, a private practitioner
- Jose V. Mejia - representative from the academe
- Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez - retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
- Toribio E. Ilao, Jr. - representative from the private sector[6]
As a matter of tradition, the two (2) senior associate justices of the Supreme Court also take part in the JBC deliberations.
Function
The function of the Council is to recommend to the president of possible appointees to the Judiciary.[7]
The president shall choose from among those nominated, before the president may ask the Council to nominate somebody else and add it to the list, but this is not allowed anymore. The person then chosen by the president then becomes a member of the Judiciary, and is not anymore reviewed by the Commission on Appointments. This is to prevent politicking and horse-trading among political parties.
Prior to the creation of the JBC, judges and justices were appointed by the president as per and the 1973 constitution, and with confirmation by the Commission on Appointments as per the 1935 constitution.
Former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban said that the Council's principal objective is to attract the best and brightest to the judiciary and to make them remain there.
Gallery
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Judicial and Bar Council office
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Logo of the Supreme Court
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JBC building
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Entrance to the JBC offices
Members
The members of the JBC were:[8]
Chief Justice
JBC Ex Officio Chairpersons | Position | Start of Term | End of Term |
---|---|---|---|
Claudio Teehankee | Chief Justice | 10 December 1987 | 12 April 1988 |
Pedro L. Yap | Chief Justice | 20 April 1988 | 29 June 1988 |
Marcelo B. Fernan | Chief Justice | 4 July 1988 | 5 December 1991 |
Andres R. Narvasa | Chief Justice | 8 December 1991 | 30 November 1998 |
Hilario G. Davide, Jr. | Chief Justice | 30 November 1998 | 19 December 2005 |
Artemio V. Panganiban | Chief Justice | 20 December 2005 | 6 December 2006 |
Reynato S. Puno | Chief Justice | 7 December 2006 | 17 May 2010 |
Renato C. Corona | Chief Justice | 17 May 2010 | 29 May 2012 |
Antonio T. Carpio | Senior Associate Justice Acting Chairperson |
30 May 2012 | 16 July 2012 |
Diosdado M. Peralta | Associate Justice Acting Chairperson |
16 July 2012 | 13 August 2012 |
Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno | Chief Justice | 24 August 2012 | |
Secretaries of Justice
Secretaries of Justice | Start of Term | End of Term |
---|---|---|
Sedfrey A. Ordoñez | 10 December 1987 | 18 December 1989 |
Franklin M. Drilon | 8 January 1990 | 2 July 1992 |
Silvestre H. Bello III | 16 July 1991 | 3 February 1992 |
Eduardo G. Montenegro | 17 February 1992 | 1 June 1992 |
Franklin M. Drilon | 22 July 1992 | 14 December 1994 |
Demetrio G. Demetria | 18 January 1995 | 17 March 1995 |
Teofisto T. Guingona, Jr. | 24 May 1995 | 28 January 1998 |
Silvestre H. Bello III | 18 February 1998 | 30 June 1998 |
Serafin R. Cuevas | 1 July 1998 | 10 February 2000 |
Artemio G. Tuquero | 11 February 2000 | 20 January 2001 |
Hernando B. Perez | 23 January 2001 | 15 January 2003 |
Simeon A. Datumanong | 22 January 2003 | December 2003 |
Merceditas N. Gutierrez | 28 January 2004 | 31 August 2004 |
Raul M. Gonzalez | 1 September 2004 | 30 May 2009 |
Agnes VST Devanadera | 8 June 2009 | 28 February 2010 |
Alberto C. Agra | 1 March 2010 | 30 June 2010 |
Leila M. De Lima | 1 July 2010 | 30 June 2016 |
Vitaliano N. Aguirre II | 1 July 2016 | |
Representative from Congress
Since the creation of the JBC in 1987 until 1994, the representation for Congress in the body alternated between the House of Representatives and the Senate, by their respective Chairman of the Committee on Justice.
Congress representative | House | Start of Term | End of Term |
---|---|---|---|
Rogaciano M. Mercado | House of Representatives | 10 December 1987 | 23 February 1989 |
Wigberto E. Tañada | Senate | 2 March 1988 | 21 May 1990 |
Isidro C. Zarraga | House of Representatives | 31 July 1989 | 12 August 1992 |
Raul S. Roco | Senate | 30 September 1992 | 3 March 1993 |
By 1994, the two representatives from Congress began sitting simultaneously, each having one-half of a vote.
Congressman | Start of Term | End of Term |
---|---|---|
Pablo P. Garcia | 26 August 1992 | 8 March 1995 |
Isidro C. Zarraga | 28 June 1995 | 30 June 1998 |
Alfredo E. Abueg | 31 July 1998 | 29 November 2000 |
Senator | Start of Term | End of Term |
---|---|---|
Alberto G. Romulo | 14 April 1993 | 1 August 1995 |
Marcelo B. Fernan | 2 August 1995 | 31 December 1996 |
Raul S. Roco | 1 January 1997 | 30 July 1998 |
Renato L. Cayetano | 31 July 1998 | 31 January 2000 |
Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. | 1 February 2000 | 29 November 2000 |
Miriam D. Santiago | 10 January 2001 | 14 February 2001 |
On May 30, 2001, the JBC En Banc decided to grant the representatives from both Houses of Congress one full vote each.
Congressman | Start of Term | End of Term |
---|---|---|
Henry P. Lanot | 14 December 2000 | 30 June 2001 |
Alan Peter S. Cayetano | 8 August 2001 | 3 March 2003 |
Marcelino C. Libanan | 4 March 2003 | 8 August 2003 |
Simeon A. Datumanong | 9 August 2004 | 30 June 2007 |
Matias V. Defensor, Jr. | 8 August 2007 | 30 June 2010 |
Niel C. Tupas, Jr. | 29 July 2010 | 30 June 2013 |
Senator | Start of Term | End of Term |
---|---|---|
Renato L. Cayetano | 16 May 2001 | 28 August 2001 |
Francis N.Pangilinan | 29 August 2001 | 23 November 2008 |
Francis Joseph G. Escudero | 24 November 2008 | 30 June 2013 |
On 2013, the eight-member composition of the JBC was questioned at the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court restored the composition of the JBC to seven.
Congress representative | House | Start of Term | End of Term |
---|---|---|---|
Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III | Senate | 23 July 2013 | 31 December 2013 |
Niel C. Tupas, Jr. | House of Representatives | 1 January 2014 | 30 June 2014 |
Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III | Senate | 1 July 2014 | 31 December 2014 |
Niel C. Tupas, Jr. | House of Representatives | 1 January 2015 | 30 June 2015 |
Retired member of the Supreme Court
Retired Supreme Court member representative | Start of Term | End of Term |
---|---|---|
Nestor B. Alampay | 10 December 1987 | 10 December 1989 |
Lorenzo R. Relova | 8 January 1990 | 9 July 1993 |
Jose C. Campos, Jr. | 22 September 1993 | 9 July 1997 |
Regino C. Hermosisima, Jr. | 24 November 1997 | 9 July 2013 |
Angelina Sandoval Gutierrez | 8 October 2014 | 9 July 2017 |
Representative from the academe
Academe representative | Start of Term | End of Term |
---|---|---|
Rodolfo C. Palma | 10 December 1987 | 9 July 1994 |
Cezar C. Peralejo | 8 February 1995 | 9 July 1998 |
Alfredo M. Marigomen | 21 July 1998 | 9 July 2002 |
Amado L. Dimayuga | 9 July 2003 | 9 July 2010 |
Jose V. Mejia | 28 April 2011 | 9 July 2018 |
Representative from the Integrated Bar
Integrated Bar representative | Start of Term | End of Term |
---|---|---|
Leon M. Garcia, Jr. | 17 June 1988 | 9 July 1991 |
Presbitero J. Velasco, Jr. | 7 January 1993 | 22 March 1995 |
Francisco B. Santiago | 1 August 1995 | 8 July 1996 |
Amado L. Dimayuga | 8 July 1997 | 9 July 2003 |
Conrado P. Castro | 9 July 2003 | 17 March 2011 |
Maria Milagros N. Fernan-Cayosa | 2 May 2011 | 9 July 2015 |
Representative from the private sector
Private sector representative | Start of Term | End of Term |
---|---|---|
Ofelia C. Santos | 10 December 1987 | 9 July 1992 |
Teresita Cruz Sison | 30 September 1992 | 9 July 2004 |
Raoul V. Victorino | 12 July 2005 | 9 July 2008 |
Aurora Santiago Lagman | 13 October 2008 | 9 July 2016 |
Notes
- ↑ 1987 Constitution, Article VIII, Section 8, Paragraph 1
- ↑ 1987 Constitution, Article VIII, Section 8, Paragraph 3
- ↑ 1987 Constitution, Article VIII, Section 8, Paragraph 2
- ↑ "SC asks JBC to comment on Chavez petition". GMANews.tv. 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
- ↑ Punay, Edu (2012-07-03). "Only one member from Congress in JBC, SC affirms". Philippine Star. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
- ↑ newsinfo.inquirer.net, CA justice named to body that screens judicial appointees
- ↑ 1987 Constitution, Article VIII, Section 8, Paragraph 5
- ↑ "JBC CHAIRPERSONS, EX OFFICIO AND REGULAR MEMBERS, EX OFFICIO SECRETARIES AND CONSULTANTS". Supreme Court of the Philippines. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
See also
References
- Chan Robles Virtual Law Library: Article 8
- Atty. Rita Linda V. Jimeno. "Attracting the best and the brightest". Retrieved 2006-08-08.
External links
See also
- Supreme Court of the Philippines
- Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
- Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
- Constitution of the Philippines
- Professional Regulation Commission