| Judicial and Bar Council | |
| Native Name: | Sangguniang Panghukuman at Pang-abogasya |
| Abbreviation: | JBC |
| Purpose: | Recommending appointees to the Judiciary |
| Location: | Padre Faura Street, Ermita, Manila |
| Membership: | 7
|
| Owners: | --> |
| Leader Title: | Chairperson |
| Leader Name: | Alexander Gesmundo |
| Parent Organization: | Supreme Court of the Philippines |
The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC; Filipino; Pilipino: 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.
The 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.
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,[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.
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.
The members of the Judicial and Bar Council are:
| Office | 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 | |
| Member | Term started | Term scheduled to end | Representing | Type | Appointed by | ||
| 3 | Francis Tolentino | July 29, 2024 | June 30, 2025 | Congress | Senate | Ex officio member | 19th Congress |
| Juliet Marie Ferrer | July 26, 2022 | House of Representatives | |||||
| 4 | Erlinda Piñera-Uy | July 21, 2023[10] | July 9, 2027 | Integrated Bar | Regular member | Bongbong Marcos | |
| 5 | Nesauro Firme | July 11, 2022[11] | July 9, 2026 | The academe | Bongbong Marcos | ||
| 6 | Jose Mendoza | July 19, 2021 | July 9, 2025 | Retired justice of the Supreme Court | Rodrigo Duterte | ||
| 7 | Jose V. Mejia | July 19, 2024 | July 19, 2028 | The private sector | Bongbong Marcos | ||
*Under the current arrangement, the congressman sits from January to June, while the senator sits from July to December. Only one representative is to sit at any time.
As a matter of tradition, the two most senior associate justices of the Supreme Court also take part in the JBC deliberations:
The members of the JBC were:[12]
See main article: Chief Justice of the Philippines. The Chief Justice became a member starting on December 10, 1987.
See main article: Secretary of Justice (Philippines). The Secretary of Justice became a member starting on December 10, 1987.
Congress 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.
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.
| 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 |
By 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 | |||
On May 30, 2001, the JBC En Banc decided to grant the representatives from both Houses of Congress one full vote each.
| 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 |
In 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.[13]
| 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 | |
| July 29, 2024 | Term expected to end December 31, 2024 |
| Representative from the academe | width=20% | Retired Supreme Court justice | width=20% | Representative from the private sector | width=10% | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leon Garcia Jr. June 17, 1988 – July 9, 1991 | Rodolfo Palma December 10, 1987 – July 9, 1990 | December 10, 1987 – December 10, 1989 | Ofelia Santos December 10, 1987 – December 10, 1988 | Corazon AquinoFebruary 25, 1986 – June 30,. 1992 | ||
| December 10, 1988 | Ofelia Santos December 10, 1988 – July 9, 1992 | |||||
| December 10, 1989 | Lorenzo Relova January 8, 1990 – July 9. 1993 | |||||
| July 9, 1990 | Rodolfo Palma July 9, 1990 – July 9, 1994 | |||||
| July 9, 1991 | Presbitero Velasco Jr. January 7, 1993 – March 22, 1995 | |||||
| July 9, 1992 | Teresita Cruz Sison September 30, 1992– July 9, 1996 | Fidel V. RamosJune 30, 1992 – June 30, 1998 | ||||
| July 9, 1993 | Jose C. Campos September 22, 1993 – July 9. 1997 | |||||
| July 9, 1994 | Cezar Peralejo February 8, 1995 – July 9, 1998 | |||||
| July 9, 1995 | Francisco Santiago August 1, 1995 – July 9, 1996Amado Dimayuga July 8, 1997 – July 9, 1999 | |||||
| July 9, 1996 | Teresita Cruz Sison July 9. 1997 – July 9, 2000 | |||||
| July 9, 1997 | Regino C. Hermosisima Jr. November 24, 1997 – July 9. 2001 | |||||
| July 9, 1998 | Alfredo Marigomen July 21, 1998 – July 9, 2002 | Joseph EstradaJune 30, 1998 – January 20, 2001 | ||||
| July 9, 1999 | Amado Dimayuga July 9, 1999 – July 9, 2003 | |||||
| July 9, 2000 | Teresita Cruz Sison August 18, 2000 – July 9, 2004 | |||||
| July 9, 2001 | Regino C. Hermosisima Jr. September 10, 2001 – July 9, 2005 | Gloria Macapagal ArroyoJanuary 20, 2001 – June 30, 2010 | ||||
| July 9, 2002 | Amado Dimayuga July 9, 2003 – July 9, 2006 | |||||
| July 9, 2003 | Conrado Castro July 9, 2003 – July 9, 2007 | |||||
| July 9, 2004 | Raoul Victorino July 12, 2005 – July 9, 2008 | |||||
| July 9, 2005 | Regino C. Hermosisima Jr. October 4, 2005 – July 9. 2009 | |||||
| July 9, 2006 | Amado Dimayuga July 9, 2006 – July 9, 2010 | |||||
| July 9, 2007 | Conrado Castro July 9, 2007 – March 17, 2011Maria Milagros Fernan-Cayosa May 2 – July 9, 2011 | |||||
| July 9, 2008 | Aurora Santiago Lagman October 13, 2008 – July 9, 2012 | |||||
| July 9, 2009 | Regino C. Hermosisima Jr. July 9, 2009 – July 9. 2013 | |||||
| July 9, 2010 | Jose Mejia April 28, 2011 – July 9, 2014 | Benigno Aquino IIIJune 30, 2010 – June 30, 2016 | ||||
| July 9, 2011 | Maria Milagros Fernan-Cayosa July 9, 2011 – July 9, 2015 | |||||
| July 9, 2012 | Aurora Santiago Lagman July 9, 2012 – July 9, 2016 | |||||
| July 9, 2013 | Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez October 8, 2014 – July 9. 2017 | |||||
| July 9, 2014 | Jose Mejia July 9, 2014 – July 9, 2018 | |||||
| July 9, 2015 | Maria Milagros Fernan-Cayosa July 9, 2015 – July 9, 2019 | |||||
| July 9, 2016 | Toribio Ilao Jr. October 24, 2016 – July 9, 2020 | Rodrigo DuterteJune 30, 2016 – June 30, 2022 | ||||
| July 9, 2017 | Jose C. Mendoza October 4, 2017 – July 9. 2021 | |||||
| July 9, 2018 | Noel Tijam March 6, 2019 – July 9, 2022 | |||||
| July 9, 2019 | Franklin Demonteverde July 9, 2019 – July 9, 2023 | |||||
| July 9, 2020 | Toribio Ilao Jr. July 9, 2020 – July 9, 2024 | |||||
| July 9, 2021 | Jose C. Mendoza July 20, 2021 – present (Term ends July 9, 2025) | |||||
| July 9, 2022 | Nesauro Firme July 11, 2022 – present (Term ends July 9, 2026) | Bongbong MarcosJune 30, 2022 – present | ||||
| July 9, 2023 | Erlinda Piñera Uy July 21, 2023 – present (Term ends July 9, 2027) | |||||
| July 9, 2024 | Jose Mejia[14] July 20, 2024 – present (Term ends July 9, 2028) |
a. Resigned
b. Died in office[15]