Manila, March 21 (NNN-PNA) court of Appeals Presiding Justice Ruben T. Reyes is one of the 14 candidates vying for the post to be vacated by Supreme Court Justice Romeo J. Callejo Jr. who is due to retire on April 28.

On the other hand, 64 applicants are racing for one opening as CA Associate Justice which has been vacant since February 18 with the death of Justice Roberto A. Barrios.

Among the CA applicants are current Labor Secretary Arturo Brion, who was already Associate Justice of the CA before he was appointed to the Cabinet by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Despite his previous CA experience, Brion will still have to be interviewed, according to Atty. Annaliza Capacite of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).

Another CA applicant is retired elections Commissioner Mehol K. Sadain, a Muslim lawyer and professor at the University of the Philippines. Of the 64 CA contenders, 17 are female.

The SC Judicial Bar Council (JBC) also announced that five senior applicants from the CA are already considered nominated to the position, including Reyes. The other four are Conrado Melchor A. Vasquez Jr., Portia Alino-Hormachuelos, Martin S. Villarama and Andres B. Reyes Jr.

Other candidates to the SC post include the Presiding Justice of the Sandiganbayan Teresita de Castro and the present SC Court Administrator, Christopher Lock.

Lock’s immediate predecessor, Presbitero Velasco Jr., moved up to become Associate Justice.

While CA Justice Elvi John Asuncion was dismissed this week for gross ignorance of the law and professional neglect of duty, still, he is technically not out of the service. So, this month’s batch of candidates does not include his possible replacement, it was learned.

In October, SC Associate Justice Cancio Garcia will retire, but applications for his replacement are not yet being entertained.

Interviews for SC applicants will be held on March 28 and 29 at the Division Hearing Room of the new SC Building which is open to the public.