3 Supreme Court (SC) magistrates made it to the list of candidates for Chief Justice submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to President Rodrigo Duterte.

In an advisory, the JBC said these are Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Estela Perlas-Bernabe and Andres Reyes Jr.

Peralta and Bernabe both received seven votes from the JBC while Reyes received four votes.

The President’s choice will replace incumbent Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin who will mandatorily retire from the service upon reaching 70 on October 18.

The Chief Executive has 90 days from vacancy to appoint a new top magistrate.

Peralta will be the second most senior magistrate followed by Bernabe while Reyes will be the sixth most senior following Bersamin’s retirement.

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio earlier declined his nomination for the judiciary’s top post as he will also compulsorily retire from the service on October 26. (PNA)