The five applicants are SC Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, and SC Associate Justices Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, Rodil V. Zalameda, Japar B. Dimaampao, and Jose Midas P. Marquez. Public interviews are scheduled to begin on Thursday, October 22, 2026. Leonen and Caguioa will be interviewed in the SC’s session hall on that date. Zalameda, Dimaampao, and Marquez are scheduled for interviews on Monday, October 26, 2026.
The JBC stated that members of the public may submit sworn complaints, reports, or oppositions against any candidate. Submissions must be received by 4:30 p.m. on October 27, 2026, either via mail to the JBC at the SC-CA building in Manila or through electronic mail to [email protected]. Under Section 7, Article VIII of the Constitution, candidates for the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice, must be natural-born citizens, at least 40 years old, and have served as a lower court judge or practiced law in the Philippines for at least 15 years. Candidates must also demonstrate proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence.
The JBC is mandated to submit at least three nominees to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for final appointment. All five current applicants were previously appointed to the Supreme Court: Leonen on November 21, 2012; Caguioa on January 22, 2016; Zalameda on August 6, 2019; Dimaampao on July 2, 2021; and Marquez on November 16, 2021.
This recruitment process coincides with a separate JBC initiative for an Associate Justice position, which will become vacant on November 16, 2026, upon the mandatory retirement of Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier. The JBC has already completed public interviews for 19 applicants for the Associate Justice seat. Among those applicants were Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Fernanda Lampas Peralta, Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Geraldine Faith A. Econg, and Solicitor General Darlene Marie B. Berberabe. Lazaro-Javier was appointed to the SC on March 7, 2019, following her tenure as a Court of Appeals associate justice from September 13, 2007, to March 6, 2019.
