The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC; Filipino: Sangguniang Panghukuman at Pang-abogasya[1]) of the Philippines is a constitutionally-created body that recommends appointees for vacancies that may arise in the composition of the Supreme Court, other lower courts, and the Legal Education Board, and in the offices of the Ombudsman, Deputy Ombudsman and the Special Prosecutor.
| Sangguniang Panghukuman at Pang-abogasya | |
.svg) JBC seal | |
| Abbreviation | JBC |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Recommending appointees to the Judiciary |
| Location | |
Membership | 7
|
Chairperson | Alexander Gesmundo |
Parent organization | Supreme Court of the Philippines |
| Website | jbc |
History
editThe Supreme Court and other lower courts in the Philippines were established upon the basis of Act No .136 of 1901 of the Philippine Commission. This succeeded the Real Audiencas and lower courts during the Spanish era. At this time, the Supreme Court was appointed by the Philippine Commission. With the approval of the Jones Law in 1916, the justices of the Supreme Court were appointed by the President of the United States, with advice and consent of the United States Senate. Judges of lower courts were then appointed by the Governor-General.
Upon the ratification of the 1935 constitution, all justices and judges are appointed by the President of the Philippines with consent of the 21-member Commission on Appointments of the National Assembly of the Philippines. Upon the reestablishment of bicameralism, the Commission on Appointments then had equal number of members (12) from the House of Representatives and Senate. This became the setup until the approval of the 1973 constitution, where the president had the sole power of appointment, with no check and balance from the Batasang Pambansa. With the approval of the 1987 constitution, the Judicial and Bar Council was created to provide a shortlist of nominees on which the president can appoint from.
Composition
editThe 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,[2] while the Clerk of the Supreme Court shall serve as the ex officio secretary.[3]
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.[4] The succeeding members shall then be given the full four-year term.
The Chief Justice is appointed by the president from the shortlist submitted by the JBC. The Secretary of Justice, as a member of the Cabinet, is appointed by the president with advice and consent of the Commission on Appointments. The member of Congress is elected by the chamber where the member came from.
The regular members were allowed to be reappointed without limit. The Secretary of Justice serves at the pleasure of the president, while the representative of Congress serves until they are recalled by their chamber, or until the term of Congress that named them expires. Finally, the Chief Justice serves until mandatory retirement at the age of 70. The regular members' terms start at July 9.
In 2012, a petition at the Supreme Court questioned on who should occupy the seat allocated for Congress. By then, there are two members of Congress in the council, with both having voting rights: the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Justice and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights.[5] 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.[6]
The council is the only government body that has members from all three branches of the government, excluding ad hoc and advisory bodies.
Function
edit
The function of the Council is to recommend to the representatives 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. In 2009, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo asked the council to add more nominees on two Supreme Court vacancies. The council rejected the request.[8] Arroyo then appointed someone from the list.[9]
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.
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.
Offices shortlisted
edit- Justices of the Supreme Court
- Justices of the Court of Appeals
- Justices of the Sandiganbayan
- Justices of the Court of Tax Appeals
- Officials in the Office of the Ombudsman
- Members of the Legal Education Board
- Judges in the Regional Trial Courts and all lower courts
Membership
editThe members of the Judicial and Bar Council are:
| Member | Term started | Term scheduled to end | Membership | Type | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexander Gesmundo | April 5, 2021 | November 6, 2026 | Chief Justice | Ex officio chairman | Rodrigo Duterte | |
| 2 | Jesus Crispin Remulla | June 30, 2022 | Serves at president's pleasure | Secretary of Justice | Ex officio member | Bongbong Marcos | |
| 3 | Francis Tolentino[a] | July 29, 2024 | June 30, 2025 | Member representing Congress | Senate | 19th Congress | |
| Juliet Marie Ferrer[a] | July 26, 2022 | House of Representatives | |||||
| 4 | Erlinda Piñera-Uy | July 21, 2023[10] | July 9, 2027 | Member representing the Integrated Bar | Regular member | Bongbong Marcos | |
| 5 | Nesauro Firme | July 11, 2022[11] | July 9, 2026 | Member representing the academe | Bongbong Marcos | ||
| 6 | Jose Mendoza | July 19, 2021[12] | July 9, 2025 | Retired justice of the Supreme Court | Rodrigo Duterte | ||
| 7 | Jose V. Mejia | July 19, 2024[13] | July 19, 2028 | Member representing the private sector | Bongbong Marcos | ||
- Ex officio secretary: Atty. Marife M. Lomibao- Cuevas, as Clerk of the Supreme Court en banc, since March 26, 2021
- JBC Consultant: Hon. Raul Bautista Villanueva, as Supreme Court Administrator
As a matter of tradition, the two most senior associate justices of the Supreme Court also take part in the JBC deliberations, but do not vote:
Former members
edit
The members of the JBC were:[14]
Chief Justice
editThe Chief Justice became a member starting on December 10, 1987.
Secretaries of Justice
editThe Secretary of Justice became a member starting on December 10, 1987.
Representative from Congress
editCongress is a bicameral legislature. The representative from Congress is either Chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, or the House Committee on Justice.
One representative
editSince 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.
| Member | Chamber | Start of term | End of term | Congress |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rogaciano Mercado | House of Representatives | December 10, 1987 | February 23, 1989 | 8th |
| Wigberto Tañada | Senate | March 2, 1988 | May 21, 1990 | 8th |
| Isidro Zarraga | House of Representatives | July 31, 1989 | August 12, 1992 | 8th |
| 9th | ||||
| Pablo P. Garcia | August 26, 1992 | September 30, 1992 | 9th |
Two representatives, half a vote each
editBy 1993, the two representatives from Congress began sitting simultaneously, each having one-half of a vote.
| Congressman | Senator | Congress | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Start of term | End of term | Member | Start of term | End of term | |
| Pablo P. Garcia | September 30, 1992 | March 8, 1995 | Raul Roco | September 30, 1992 | March 3, 1993 | 9th |
| Alberto Romulo | April 14, 1993 | August 1, 1995 | 9th | |||
| Isidro Zarraga | June 28, 1995 | June 30, 1998 | 10th | |||
| Marcelo Fernan | August 2, 1995 | December 31, 1996 | 10th | |||
| Raul Roco | January 1, 1997 | July 30, 1998 | 10th | |||
| 11th | ||||||
| Alfredo Abueg | July 31, 1998 | November 29, 2000 | Rene Cayetano | July 31, 1998 | January 31, 2000 | 11th |
| Aquilino Pimentel Jr. | February 1, 2000 | November 29, 2000 | 11th | |||
| Henry Lanot | December 14, 2000 | May 30, 2001 | Miriam Defensor Santiago | January 10, 2001 | February 14, 2001 | 11th |
| Rene Cayetano | May 16, 2001 | May 30, 2001 | 11th | |||
Two representatives, one vote each
editOn May 30, 2001, the JBC En Banc decided to grant the representatives from both Houses of Congress one full vote each.
| Congressman | Senator | Congress | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Start of term | End of term | Member | Start of term | End of term | |
| Henry Lanot | May 30, 2001 | June 30, 2001 | Rene Cayetano | May 30, 2001 | August 28, 2001 | 11th |
| Alan Peter Cayetano | August 8, 2001 | March 3, 2003 | 12th | |||
| Francis Pangilinan | August 29, 2001 | November 23, 2008 | 12th | |||
| Marcelino Libanan | March 4, 2003 | August 8, 2003 | 12th | |||
| Simeon Datumanong | August 9, 2004 | June 30, 2007 | 13th | |||
| Matias Defensor Jr. | August 8, 2007 | June 30, 2010 | 14th | |||
| Francis Escudero | November 24, 2008 | June 30, 2013 | 14th | |||
| Niel Tupas Jr. | July 29, 2010 | June 30, 2013 | 15th | |||
One representative
editIn 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. It was arranged that the representative of the House of Representatives sits from January to June, while the representative of the Senate sits from July to December.[15]
| Member | Chamber | Start of term | End of term | Congress |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koko Pimentel | Senate | July 23, 2013 | December 31, 2013 | 16th |
| Niel Tupas Jr. | House of Representatives | January 1, 2014 | June 30, 2014 | |
| Koko Pimentel | Senate | July 1, 2014 | December 31, 2014 | |
| Niel Tupas Jr. | House of Representatives | January 1, 2015 | June 30, 2015 | |
| Koko Pimentel | Senate | July 1, 2015 | December 31, 2015 | |
| Niel Tupas Jr. | House of Representatives | January 1, 2016 | June 30, 2016 | |
| Leila de Lima | Senate | July 26, 2016 | September 19, 2016 | 17th |
| Dick Gordon | September 29, 2016 | December 31, 2016 | ||
| Reynaldo Umali | House of Representatives | January 1, 2017 | June 30, 2017 | |
| Dick Gordon | Senate | July 1, 2017 | December 31, 2017 | |
| Reynaldo Umali | House of Representatives | January 1, 2018 | June 30, 2018 | |
| Dick Gordon | Senate | July 1, 2018 | December 31, 2018 | |
| Paulino Salvador Leachon | House of Representatives | January 1, 2019 | June 30, 2019 | |
| Dick Gordon | Senate | July 22, 2019 | December 31, 2019 | 18th |
| Vicente Veloso III | House of Representatives | January 1, 2020 | June 30, 2020 | |
| Dick Gordon | Senate | July 1, 2020 | December 31, 2020 | |
| Vicente Veloso III | House of Representatives | January 1, 2021 | June 30, 2021 | |
| Dick Gordon | Senate | July 1, 2021 | December 31, 2021 | |
| Vicente Veloso III | House of Representatives | January 1, 2022 | June 30, 2022 | |
| Francis Tolentino | Senate | July 25, 2022 | December 31, 2022 | 19th |
| Juliet Marie Ferrer | House of Representatives | January 1, 2023 | June 30, 2023 | |
| Francis Tolentino | Senate | July 1, 2023 | December 31, 2023 | |
| Juliet Marie Ferrer | House of Representatives | January 1, 2024 | June 30, 2024 | |
| Sonny Angara | Senate | July 1, 2024 | July 19, 2024 | |
| Francis Tolentino | July 29, 2024 | Term expected to end December 31, 2024 |
Regular members
edit| Term started | Representative from the Integrated Bar | Representative from the academe | Retired Supreme Court justice | Representative from the private sector | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 10, 1987 |
Leon Garcia Jr.
|
Rodolfo Palma
|
|
Ofelia Santos
|
Corazon Aquino
|
| December 10, 1988 |
Ofelia Santos
| ||||
| December 10, 1989 |
| ||||
| July 9, 1990 |
Rodolfo Palma
| ||||
| July 9, 1991 |
| ||||
| July 9, 1992 |
Teresita Cruz Sison
|
Fidel V. Ramos
| |||
| July 9, 1993 |
| ||||
| July 9, 1994 |
Cezar Peralejo
| ||||
| July 9, 1995 |
Francisco Santiago
Amado Dimayuga
| ||||
| July 9, 1996 |
Teresita Cruz Sison
| ||||
| July 9, 1997 |
| ||||
| July 9, 1998 |
Alfredo Marigomen
|
Joseph Estrada
| |||
| July 9, 1999 |
Amado Dimayuga
| ||||
| July 9, 2000 |
Teresita Cruz Sison
| ||||
| July 9, 2001 |
|
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
| |||
| July 9, 2002 |
Amado Dimayuga
| ||||
| July 9, 2003 |
Conrado Castro
| ||||
| July 9, 2004 |
Raoul Victorino
| ||||
| July 9, 2005 |
| ||||
| July 9, 2006 |
Amado Dimayuga
| ||||
| July 9, 2007 |
Conrado Castro
Maria Milagros Fernan-Cayosa
| ||||
| July 9, 2008 |
Aurora Santiago Lagman
| ||||
| July 9, 2009 |
| ||||
| July 9, 2010 |
Jose Mejia
|
Benigno Aquino III
| |||
| July 9, 2011 |
Maria Milagros Fernan-Cayosa
| ||||
| July 9, 2012 |
Aurora Santiago Lagman
| ||||
| July 9, 2013 |
| ||||
| July 9, 2014 |
Jose Mejia
| ||||
| July 9, 2015 |
Maria Milagros Fernan-Cayosa
| ||||
| July 9, 2016 |
Toribio Ilao Jr.
|
Rodrigo Duterte
| |||
| July 9, 2017 |
| ||||
| July 9, 2018 |
| ||||
| July 9, 2019 |
Franklin Demonteverde
| ||||
| July 9, 2020 |
Toribio Ilao Jr.
| ||||
| July 9, 2021 |
| ||||
| July 9, 2022 |
Nesauro Firme
|
Bongbong Marcos
| |||
| July 9, 2023 | Erlinda Piñera Uy
| ||||
| July 9, 2024 | Jose Mejia
|
Notes:
References
edit- ^ "Mga Pangalan ng Tanggapan ng Pamahalaan sa Filipino" (PDF). Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (in Filipino). 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 29, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- ^ 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. July 3, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ^ Punay, Edu (July 3, 2012). "Only one member from Congress in JBC, SC affirms". Philippine Star. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ^ 1987 Constitution, Article VIII, Section 8, Paragraph 5
- ^ Sy, Marvin; Punay, Edu (August 4, 2009). "JBC rejects Palace demand for more nominees to Supreme Court". philstar.com. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
- ^ Sy, Marvin. "Malacañang bows to JBC, will review Supreme Court shortlist". philstar.com. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
- ^ Mondares, Claire Bernadette (July 23, 2023). "Retired tax court justice sworn in as JBC member". The Manila Times. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
- ^ Canlas, Jomar (August 3, 2022). "Marcos appoints former lawyer to JBC". The Manila Times. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ^ Bordey, Hana (September 22, 2021). "CA nods ex-SC Justice Mendoza's reappointment as JBC member". GMA News Online. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ "Atty. Jose V. Mejia takes oath as member of SC's Judicial and Bar Council". GMA Integrated News. July 20, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ "JBC CHAIRPERSONS, EX OFFICIO AND REGULAR MEMBERS, EX OFFICIO SECRETARIES AND CONSULTANTS". Supreme Court of the Philippines. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ^ Torres-Tupas, Tetch (January 17, 2017). "SC to JBC: Answer petition on seat for solons at meetings". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ Clapano, Jose Rodel. "JBC member killed in traffic mishap". Philstar.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
See also
editReferences
edit- Chan Robles Virtual Law Library: Article 8
- Atty. Rita Linda V. Jimeno. "Attracting the best and the brightest". Retrieved August 8, 2006.
External links
edit
Media related to Judicial and Bar Council (Philippines) at Wikimedia Commons- Official website of the Judicial and Bar Council
- Official Gazette of The Philippines JBC Brifer
