Amid the controversy over the appointment of the country’s next Chief Justice, a Supreme Court magistrate has thrown his support behind the decision of the Judicial and Bar Council to proceed with the screening of candidates to replace Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno.

“I am confident that the JBC, under the leadership of Chief Justice Puno, shall fully and lawfully discharge its duties under the Constitution,” said Associate Justice Arturo D. Brion, a contender for the post that will be vacated when Puno retires in May.

Brion made the statement as the JBC begins Monday the elimination process involving nine applicants and nominees for the position.

SC Spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez said the JBC will examine all letters of application and recommendation as well as the confirmation by the nominees which were received by the council from the time the nomination process was formally opened on January 20 up to the February 4 deadline.

“(The) JBC will meet on Monday and all of these (letters) will be included in its agenda,” Marquez said.

JBC is composed of Puno as ex-oficio chairman, and Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, Sen. Francis Escudero and Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor as ex-oficio members. Its regular members include Justice Regino Hermosisima Jr., Dean Amado Dimayuga, Justice Aurora Santiago Lagman and lawyer J. Conrado Castro of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

Aside from Brion, also vying for the top judicial post are SC Associate Justices Antonio T. Carpio, Renato C. Corona, Conchita Carpio Morales and Teresita Leonardo De Castro, acting Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Edilberto G. Sandoval, Special Prosecutor Dennis M. Villa-Ignacio, Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Victor C. Fernandez and former Malabon Judge Florentino Floro, Jr.

Brion, in accepting his nomination by Court of Appeals Associate Justice Japar Dimaampao and Philippine Constitution Association (PHILCONSA) President Manuel Lazaro, did not reveal his stand on the controversial issue of whether President Arroyo could appoint the next Chief Justice due to the constitutional ban on “midnight appointments.”

“As a sitting Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, I cannot speculate, much less publicly air my views, on situations that may or may not arise in the appointment process. That is a move that I shall undertake in due form, guided by the letter and intent of the Constitution, once a concrete case is before the Court,” Brion explained in his letter to the JBC.

Brion, however, said he could state his “core values in meeting political disputes laid before the Court.”

“I am for the strengthening of our great institutions – the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary – and for the maintenance among them of the harmonious balance that our democracy and the interests of our people require, always with due regard to the rights of the individual and the public interests,” he said.

Brion’s move differed from those taken by Morales and Carpio who told the JBC they were accepting their nominations on the condition that their names will be submitted only to the next President.

The JBC merely noted the letters submitted by Morales and Carpio during its en banc meeting last week.

Under the Constitution, the JBC is mandated to submit to the President a list of at least three nominees to vacant judicial posts.

Last January 18, the JBC unanimously agreed to start processing the nominations for the next SC chief but deferred its decision on when to submit the shortlist of nominees to the “proper appointing authority.”

Article VII, Section 15 of the Constitution provides that the President is barred from making appointments two months immediately before the next presidential elections “except temporary appointments to executive positions when continued vacancies therein will prejudice or endanger public safety.”

In the case of Mrs. Arroyo, the appointments ban starts on March 10 and until her term expires on June 30.

Puno, meanwhile, will retire on May 17 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. His retirement date falls within the election period when midnight appointments are prohibited.

Some quarters believe the President could still appoint Puno’s replacement notwithstanding the ban, which they claimed only covers positions in the executive branch.