Judicial and Bar Council

Judicial and Bar Council

Sangguniang Panghukuman at Pang-abogasya
JBC seal
Abbreviation	JBC
Purpose	Recommending appointees to the Judiciary
Location	Padre Faura Street, Ermita, Manila
Membership	7 Presidential appointment upon approval of the Commission on Appointments (regular members and Secretary of Justice) Presidential appointment from nominees of the Judicial and Bar Council (Chief Justice) Nomination by each house of Congress (Member from Congress)
Chairperson	Alexander Gesmundo
Parent organization	Supreme Court of the Philippines
Website	jbc.judiciary.gov.ph

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC; Filipino : 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.

History

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.

Composition

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.

Function

Entrance to the JBC offices

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.

Offices shortlisted

• Justices of the Supreme Court
• Justices of the Court of Appeals
• Justices of the Sandiganbayan
• Justices of the Court of Tax Appeals
• Officials in the Office of the Ombudsman
• Members of the Legal Education Board
• Judges in the Regional Trial Courts and all lower courts

Membership

The members of the Judicial and Bar Council are:

Member		Term started	Term scheduled to end	Membership		Type	Appointed by
1	Alexander Gesmundo	Apr 5, 2021 [10]	Nov 6, 2026	Chief Justice		Ex officio chairman	Rodrigo Duterte
2	Jesus Crispin Remulla	Jun 30, 2022 [11]	Serves at president's pleasure	Secretary of Justice		Ex officio member	Bongbong Marcos
3	Francis Pangilinan [a]	Sep 10, 2025 [12]	Jun 30, 2028	Member representing Congress	Senate		Congress
	Gerville Luistro [a]	Jul 30, 2025 [13]			House of Representatives
4	Erlinda Piñera-Uy	Jul 21, 2023 [14]	Jul 9, 2027	Member representing the Integrated Bar		Regular member	Bongbong Marcos
5	Nesauro Firme	Jul 11, 2022 [15]	Jul 9, 2026	Member representing the academe			Bongbong Marcos
6	Jose C. Mendoza	Jul 25, 2025 [16]	Jul 9, 2029	Retired justice of the Supreme Court			Bongbong Marcos
7	Jose V. Mejia	Jul 19, 2024 [17]	Jul 9, 2028	Member representing the private sector			Bongbong Marcos

1. 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.

• Ex officio secretary: Marife M. Lomibao- Cuevas, as Clerk of the Supreme Court en banc, since March 26, 2021
• JBC Consultant: Raul Bautista Villanueva, as Supreme Court Administrator

As a matter of tradition, the two most senior associate justices of the Supreme Court also take part in the JBC deliberations, but do not vote:

• Marvic Leonen (Senior Associate Justice)
• Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa (Associate Justice)

Former members

The JBC members in the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Panel Interview

The members of the JBC were: ^[18]

Chief Justice

Main article: Chief Justice of the Philippines

The Chief Justice became a member starting on December 10, 1987.

Secretaries of Justice

Main article: Secretary of Justice (Philippines)

The Secretary of Justice became a member starting on December 10, 1987.

Representatives from Congress

Main articles: Philippine Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights and Philippine House Committee on Justice

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.

One representative

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. By 1993, the two representatives from Congress began sitting simultaneously, each having one-half of a vote. On May 30, 2001, the JBC en banc decided to grant the representatives from both Houses of Congress one full vote each.

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. ^[19]

Term started	Senator	Representative	Congress
December 10, 1987	Wigberto Tañada March 2, 1988 – May 21, 1990	Rogaciano Mercado December 10, 1987 – February 23, 1989 Isidro Zarraga July 31, 1989 – June 30, 1992	8th
June 30, 1992	Raul Roco September 30, 1992 – March 3, 1993 Alberto Romulo April 14, 1993 – June 30, 1995	Isidro Zarraga June 30, 1992– August 12, 1992 Pablo P. Garcia August 26, 1992 – March 8, 1995 Isidro Zarraga June 28–30, 1995	9th
June 30, 1995	Alberto Romulo June 30, 1995– August 1, 1995 Marcelo Fernan August 2, 1995 – December 31, 1996 Raul Roco January 1. 1997 – June 30, 1998	Isidro Zarraga June 30, 1995 – June 30, 1998	10th
June 30, 1998	Raul Roco June 30 – July 30, 1998 Rene Cayetano July 31, 1998 – January 31, 2000 Nene Pimentel February 1 – November 29, 2000 Miriam Defensor Santiago January 10 – February 14, 2001 Rene Cayetano May 16 – June 30, 2001	Alfredo Abueg July 31, 1998 – November 29, 2000 Henry Lanot December 14, 2000 – June 30, 2001	11th
June 30, 2001	Rene Cayetano June 30 – August 28, 2001 Kiko Pangilinan August 29, 2001 – June 30, 2004	Alan Peter Cayetano August 8, 2001 – March 3, 2003 Marcelino Libanan March 4 – August 8, 2003	12th
June 30, 2004	Kiko Pangilinan June 30, 2004 – June 30, 2007	Simeon Datumanong August 9, 2004 – June 30, 2007	13th
June 30, 2007	Kiko Pangilinan June 30, 2007 – November 23, 2008 Francis Escudero November 24, 2008 – June 30, 2010	Matias Defensor Jr. August 8, 2007 – June 30, 2010	14th
June 30, 2010	Francis Escudero June 30, 2010 – June 30, 2013	Niel Tupas Jr. July 29, 2010 – June 30, 2013	15th
June 30, 2013	Koko Pimentel July 23 – December 31, 2013 July 1 – December 31, 2014 July 1 – December 31, 2015	Niel Tupas Jr. January 1 – June 30, 2014 January 1 – June 30, 2015 January 1 – June 30, 2016	16th
June 30, 2016	Leila de Lima July 26 – September 19, 2016 Dick Gordon September 29 – December 31, 2016 July 1 – December 31, 2017 July 1 – December 31, 2018	Reynaldo Umali January 1 – June 30, 2017 January 1 – June 30, 2018 Paulino Salvador Leachon January 1 – June 30, 2019	17th
June 30, 2019	Dick Gordon July 22 – December 31, 2019 July 1 – December 31, 2020 July 1 – December 31, 2021	Vicente Veloso III January 1 – June 30, 2020 January 1 – June 30, 2021 January 1 – June 30, 2022	18th
June 30, 2022	Francis Tolentino July 25 – December 31, 2022 July 1 – December 31, 2023 July 1 – August 15, 2024 Koko Pimentel August 19 – December 31, 2024	Juliet Marie Ferrer January 1 – June 30, 2023 January 1 – June 30, 2024 January 1 – June 30, 2025	19th
June 30, 2025	Alan Peter Cayetano July 29, 2025 – present (Term ends December 31, 2025)	Gerville Luistro (Term begins on January 1, 2026, and ends on June 30, 2026)	20th

Regular members

Term started	Representative from the Integrated Bar	Representative from the academe	Retired Supreme Court justice	Representative from the private sector	Appointed by
December 10, 1987	Leon Garcia Jr. June 17, 1988 – July 9, 1991	Rodolfo Palma December 10, 1987 – July 9, 1990	Nestor Alampay December 10, 1987 – December 10, 1989	Ofelia Santos December 10, 1987 – December 10, 1988	Corazon Aquino February 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 a
July 9, 1992				Teresita Cruz Sison September 30, 1992– July 9, 1996	Fidel V. Ramos June 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, 1996 Amado 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 Estrada June 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 Arroyo January 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, 2011 b Maria 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 III June 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 Duterte June 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 – July 9, 2025
July 9, 2022		Nesauro Firme July 11, 2022 – present (Term ends July 9, 2026)			Bongbong Marcos June 30, 2022 – present
July 9, 2023	Erlinda Piñera Uy July 21, 2023 – present (Term ends July 9, 2027)
July 9, 2024				Jose Mejia July 20, 2024 – present (Term ends July 9, 2028)
July 9, 2025			Jose C. Mendoza July 25, 2025 – present (Term ends July 9, 2029)

Notes:

a. ^ Resigned

b. ^ Died in office ^[20]

References

1. "Mga Pangalan ng Tanggapan ng Pamahalaan sa Filipino" (PDF). Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (in Filipino). 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 29, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
2. 1987 Constitution, Article VIII, Section 8, Paragraph 1
3. 1987 Constitution, Article VIII, Section 8, Paragraph 3
4. 1987 Constitution, Article VIII, Section 8, Paragraph 2
5. "SC asks JBC to comment on Chavez petition". GMANews.tv. July 3, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
6. Punay, Edu (July 3, 2012). "Only one member from Congress in JBC, SC affirms". Philippine Star . Retrieved April 17, 2013.
7. 1987 Constitution, Article VIII, Section 8, Paragraph 5
8. Sy, Marvin; Punay, Edu (August 4, 2009). "JBC rejects Palace demand for more nominees to Supreme Court". philstar.com. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
9. Sy, Marvin. "Malacañang bows to JBC, will review Supreme Court shortlist". philstar.com. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
10. Patag, Kristine Joy. "Duterte appoints Gesmundo as new chief justice". Philstar.com. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
11. Buan, Lian (May 23, 2022). "Boying Remulla is Marcos' justice secretary". RAPPLER. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
12. Ager, Maila (September 10, 2025). "Francis Pangilinan gets 2 more key posts in Senate". Inquirer.net.
13. Panti, Llanesca T. (July 30, 2025). "Gerville Luistro elected chairperson of House Committee on Justice". GMA News Online. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
14. Mondares, Claire Bernadette (July 23, 2023). "Retired tax court justice sworn in as JBC member". The Manila Times. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
15. Canlas, Jomar (August 3, 2022). "Marcos appoints former lawyer to JBC". The Manila Times. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
16. Quevedo, Richbon (July 26, 2025). "Ex-SC Justice Mendoza named to JBC". Daily Tribune. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
17. "Atty. Jose V. Mejia takes oath as member of SC's Judicial and Bar Council". GMA Integrated News. July 20, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
18. "JBC CHAIRPERSONS, EX OFFICIO AND REGULAR MEMBERS, EX OFFICIO SECRETARIES AND CONSULTANTS". Supreme Court of the Philippines . Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
19. Torres-Tupas, Tetch (January 17, 2017). "SC to JBC: Answer petition on seat for solons at meetings". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
20. Clapano, Jose Rodel. "JBC member killed in traffic mishap". Philstar.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.

See also

• Judicial nominating commission
• Professional Regulation Commission

References

• Chan Robles Virtual Law Library: Article 8
• Atty. Rita Linda V. Jimeno. "Attracting the best and the brightest" . Retrieved August 8, 2006.

External links

• Media related to Judicial and Bar Council (Philippines) at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website of the Judicial and Bar Council
• Official Gazette of The Philippines JBC Brifer