SolGen wins SC battle, makes it to the JBC short list

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MANILA — Solicitor General Francis Jardaleza won his battle in the Supreme Court, despite doubts on his integrity raised by the Chief Justice.

Voting 7-4, the justices favored Jardaleza’s inclusion on the short list of nominees from which the president will choose a new Supreme Court justice.

President Aquino is expected to choose from among the nominees before the end of the 90-day window to fill the post left by Associate Justice Roberto Abad last May.

The selection was put on hold following Jardaleza’s petition for certiorari and mandamus against the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) and its chair, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Executive Secretary Pacquito Ochoa.

Jardaleza was not included in the original shortlist, but fought for his inclusion arguing that JBC deprived him of due process during the deliberations.

It could be noted that the chief justice, and the rest of the council has filed a petition asking the court to dismiss Jardaleza’s petition for “lack of merit.”

However, SC spokesman Theodore Te said that “the court granted the petition and declared that Solicitor General Francis H. Jardeleza is deemed included in the short list submitted to the President for consideration as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court vice Associate Justice Roberto A. Abad.”

Jardaleza is now among the nominees including Court of Appeals Associate Justices Apolinario Bruselas and Jose Reyes Jr., Commission on Audit Chair Grace Pulido-Tan and Quezon City Regional Trial Court Judge Reynaldo Daway.