Application for vacant SC seat begins
THE application or nomination for the Supreme Court seat to be vacated by Associate Justice Edgardo delos Santos whose request for early retirement was approved effective June 30, 2021 has already started.
Deadline of application for delos Santos’ soon-vacant post is July 16, 2021, the Judicial and Bar Council said in an announcement.
The early retirement request of delos Santos was recently approved by the high court.
“.. The Court resolved to approve his request for optional retirement, effective June 30, 2021, for reasons pertaining to his current state of health..”
” The Court further resolved to direct the Committee on Retirement to coordinate with the office of Justice Delos Santos regarding the conduct of Justice Delos Santos’ retirement ceremony, ” the SC notice, signed by Clerk of Court Marife Lomibao-Cuevas, read.
Delos Santos was the third SC justice to avail of early retirement.
On November last year, the high court has accepted the early retirement of associate justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla. She was supposed to retire in 2028.
On the other hand, chief justice Diosdado Peralta has also opted for early retirement last March 27, 2021.
In a one-page letter to his staff dated March 19, 2021, delos Santos expressed regret that he will be retiring soon.
” I also write to you today to properly express my deep sadness for cutting short our association. In the brief time that we have together, I have found comfort in coming to our office with the knowledge that I am among trusted people. I saw and felt your enthusiasm in your work which in turn encouraged me to do my best as your boss and mentor,” he said.
“I spent sleepless nights trying to think better — no, make that –the best way to announce my decision to you, my staff, in light of trying times we are currently experiencing. I succumbed to the frailty of human emotions, that as I mustered to overcome my sadness during my announcement this afternoon,” de los Santos continued.
