Judicial and Bar Council
Sangguniang Panghukuman at Pang-abogasya | |
JBC seal | |
Abbreviation | JBC |
---|---|
Purpose | Recommending appointees to the Judiciary |
Location |
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Membership |
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Chairperson | Lucas Bersamin |
Parent organization | Supreme Court of the Philippines |
Website | jbc.judiciary.gov.ph |
The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC; Filipino: Sangguniang Panghukuman at Pang-abogasya) 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.
Contents
1 Composition
2 Current membership
2.1 Ex officio chairman
2.2 Ex officio members
2.3 Regular members
3 Function
4 Gallery
5 Members
5.1 Chief Justice
5.2 Secretaries of Justice
5.3 Representative from Congress
5.3.1 One representative
5.3.2 Two representatives, half a vote each
5.3.3 Two representatives, one vote each
5.3.4 One representative
5.4 Retired member of the Supreme Court
5.5 Representative from the academe
5.6 Representative from the Integrated Bar
5.7 Representative from the private sector
6 Notes
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
10 See also
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.
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. 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
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Lucas P. Bersamin
Ex officio members
Secretary of Justice Menardo Guevarra- Representative from Congress - Either the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, or the Chairman of the House Committee on Justice. Under the current arrangement, the congressman sits from January to June, while the senator sits from July to December.
Senator and Chairman, Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights Richard J. Gordon
Congressman and Chairman, House Committee on Justice Doy C. Leachon
Regular members
- Ma. Milagros Fernan-Cayosa - Integrated Bar representative, a private practitioner
- Jose V. Mejia - representative from the academe
Jose C. Mendoza - 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 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. 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
Judicial and Bar Council office
Logo of the Supreme Court
JBC building
Entrance to the JBC offices
Members
The members of the JBC were:[8]
Chief Justice
JBC Ex Officio Chairpersons | Start of Term | End of Term | Appointed by |
---|---|---|---|
Claudio Teehankee | 10 December 1987 | 12 April 1988 | Corazon Aquino |
Pedro Yap | 20 April 1988 | 29 June 1988 | Corazon Aquino |
Marcelo Fernan | 4 July 1988 | 5 December 1991 | Corazon Aquino |
Andres Narvasa | 8 December 1991 | 30 November 1998 | Corazon Aquino |
Hilario Davide, Jr. | 30 November 1998 | 19 December 2005 | Joseph Estrada |
Artemio Panganiban | 20 December 2005 | 6 December 2006 | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo |
Reynato Puno | 7 December 2006 | 17 May 2010 | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo |
Renato Corona | 17 May 2010 | 29 May 2012 | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo |
Maria Lourdes Sereno | 24 August 2012 | 11 May 2018 | Benigno Aquino III |
Teresita de Castro | 28 August 2018 | 08 October 2018 | Rodrigo R. Duterte |
Lucas P. Bersamin | 28 November 2018 | 18 October 2019 | Rodrigo R. Duterte |
Secretaries of Justice
Secretaries of Justice | Start of Term | End of Term | Appointed by |
---|---|---|---|
Sedfrey Ordoñez | 10 December 1987 | 18 December 1989 | Corazon Aquino |
Franklin Drilon | 8 January 1990 | 2 July 1992 | Corazon Aquino |
Silvestre Bello III | 16 July 1991 | 3 February 1992 | Corazon Aquino |
Eduardo Montenegro | 17 February 1992 | 1 June 1992 | Corazon Aquino |
Franklin Drilon | 22 July 1992 | 14 December 1994 | Fidel V. Ramos |
Demetrio Demetria | 18 January 1995 | 17 March 1995 | Fidel V. Ramos |
Teofisto Guingona, Jr. | 24 May 1995 | 28 January 1998 | Fidel V. Ramos |
Silvestre Bello III | 18 February 1998 | 30 June 1998 | Fidel V. Ramos |
Serafin Cuevas | 1 July 1998 | 10 February 2000 | Joseph Estrada |
Artemio Tuquero | 11 February 2000 | 20 January 2001 | Joseph Estrada |
Hernando Perez | 23 January 2001 | 15 January 2003 | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo |
Simeon Datumanong | 22 January 2003 | December 2003 | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo |
Merceditas Gutierrez | 28 January 2004 | 31 August 2004 | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo |
Raul M. Gonzalez | 1 September 2004 | 30 May 2009 | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo |
Agnes Devanadera | 8 June 2009 | 28 February 2010 | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo |
Alberto Agra | 1 March 2010 | 30 June 2010 | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo |
Leila de Lima | 1 July 2010 | 12 October 2015 | Benigno Aquino III |
Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa | 12 October 2015 | 22 January 2016 | Benigno Aquino III |
Emmanuel Caparas | 22 January 2016 | 30 June 2016 | Benigno Aquino III |
Vitaliano Aguirre II | 1 July 2016 | 4 April 2018 | Rodrigo Duterte |
Menardo Guevarra | 5 April 2018 | incumbent | Rodrigo Duterte |
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.
One representative
Congress representative | House | Start of Term | End of Term |
---|---|---|---|
Rogaciano Mercado | House of Representatives | 10 December 1987 | 23 February 1989 |
Wigberto Tañada | Senate | 2 March 1988 | 21 May 1990 |
Isidro Zarraga | House of Representatives | 31 July 1989 | 12 August 1992 |
Raul Roco | Senate | 30 September 1992 | 3 March 1993 |
Two representatives, half a vote each
By 1994, the two representatives from Congress began sitting simultaneously, each having one-half of a vote.
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Two representatives, one vote each
On May 30, 2001, the JBC En Banc decided to grant the representatives from both Houses of Congress one full vote each.
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One representative
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. 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.[9]
Congress representative | House | Start of Term | End of Term |
---|---|---|---|
Aquilino Pimentel III | Senate | 23 July 2013 | 31 December 2013 |
Niel Tupas, Jr. | House of Representatives | 1 January 2014 | 30 June 2014 |
Aquilino Pimentel III | Senate | 1 July 2014 | 31 December 2014 |
Niel Tupas, Jr. | House of Representatives | 1 January 2015 | 30 June 2015 |
Aquilino Pimentel III | Senate | 1 July 2015 | 31 December 2015 |
Niel Tupas, Jr. | House of Representatives | 1 January 2016 | 30 June 2016 |
Leila de Lima | Senate | 26 July 2016 | 19 September 2016 |
Richard J. Gordon | Senate | 29 September 2016 | 31 December 2016 |
Reynaldo Umali | House of Representatives | 1 January 2017 | 30 June 2017 |
Richard J. Gordon | Senate | 1 July 2017 | 31 December 2017 |
Reynaldo Umali | House of Representatives | 1 January 2018 | 30 June 2018 |
Richard J. Gordon | Senate | 1 July 2018 | Incumbent |
Retired member of the Supreme Court
Retired Supreme Court member representative | Start of Term | End of Term | Appointed by |
---|---|---|---|
Nestor Alampay | 10 December 1987 | 10 December 1989 | Corazon Aquino |
Lorenzo Relova | 8 January 1990 | 9 July 1993 | Corazon Aquino |
Jose Campos, Jr. | 22 September 1993 | 9 July 1997 | Fidel V. Ramos |
Regino Hermosisima, Jr. | 24 November 1997 | 9 July 2013 | Fidel V. Ramos, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Benigno Aquino III |
Angelina Sandoval Gutierrez | 8 October 2014 | 9 July 2017 | Benigno Aquino III |
Jose Mendoza | 4 October 2017 | 9 July 2021 | Rodrigo Duterte |
Representative from the academe
Academe representative | Start of Term | End of Term | Appointed by |
---|---|---|---|
Rodolfo Palma | 10 December 1987 | 9 July 1994 | Corazon Aquino |
Cezar Peralejo | 8 February 1995 | 9 July 1998 | Fidel V. Ramos |
Alfredo Marigomen | 21 July 1998 | 9 July 2002 | Joseph Estrada |
Amado Dimayuga | 9 July 2003 | 9 July 2010 | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo |
Jose Mejia | 28 April 2011 | 9 July 2018 | Benigno Aquino III |
Representative from the Integrated Bar
Integrated Bar representative | Start of Term | End of Term | Appointed by |
---|---|---|---|
Leon Garcia, Jr. | 17 June 1988 | 9 July 1991 | Corazon Aquino |
Presbitero Velasco, Jr. | 7 January 1993 | 22 March 1995 | Fidel V. Ramos |
Francisco Santiago | 1 August 1995 | 8 July 1996 | Fidel V. Ramos |
Amado Dimayuga | 8 July 1997 | 9 July 2003 | Fidel V. Ramos |
Conrado Castro | 9 July 2003 | 17 March 2011 | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo |
Maria Milagros Fernan-Cayosa | 2 May 2011 | 9 July 2019 | Benigno Aquino III |
Representative from the private sector
Private sector representative | Start of Term | End of Term | Appointed by |
---|---|---|---|
Ofelia Santos | 10 December 1987 | 9 July 1992 | Corazon Aquino |
Teresita Cruz Sison | 30 September 1992 | 9 July 2004 | Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Estrada |
Raoul Victorino | 12 July 2005 | 9 July 2008 | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo |
Aurora Santiago Lagman | 13 October 2008 | 9 July 2016 | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Benigno Aquino III |
Toribio Ilao, Jr. | 24 October 2016 | 9 July 2020 | Rodrigo Duterte |
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..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ 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 Archived 2008-09-07 at the Wayback Machine
^ 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.
^ Torres-Tupas, Tetch (2017-01-17). "SC to JBC: Answer petition on seat for solons at meetings". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
See also
- Judicial nominating commission
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
- Official website of the Judicial and Bar Council
- Official Gazette of The Philippines JBC Brifer
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