Two more incumbent justices of the Supreme Court have joined six others in the race for the post that will be vacated when Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno hangs his robe in May.

Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo De Castro and Arturo D. Brion were nominated before the Punoled Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) by their peers. Both accepted their nominations.

De Castro and Brion are the seventh and eighth most senior SC justices, respectively, after Puno and Associate Justices Antonio T. Carpio, Renato C. Corona, Conchita Carpio Morales, Presbitero J. Velasco Jr., and Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura.

The five most senior associate justices have been automatically considered by the JBC for the position of Chief Justice. Velasco and Nachura, however, declined their nominations.

Corona, Carpio, and Morales all signified their interest for the top SC post, although the latter two said their acceptance of the nomination was subject to the condition that their names will be submitted to the next President.

Carpio and Morales were echoing the position taken by various sectors and legal personalities that outgoing President Arroyo cannot name Puno’s replacement since this would violate the election appointments ban.

Puno will retire on May 17, which is within the election period when midnight appointments are prohibited by the Constitution.

Under Article VII, Section 15 of the Constitution, an incumbent President is prohibited from making any appointments two months before the next presidential elections and until his or her term expires on June 30.

With the entry of De Castro and Brion, there are now five associate justices vying to become the country’s next Chief Justice. They are joined by three “outsiders” – Special Prosecutor Dennis M. Villa-Ignacio, former Malabon Judge Florentino Floro Jr. and Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Victor C. Fernandez.

De Castro was nominated by retired SC Justice Minita Chico Nazario and lawyer Julie Ann Chang.

Both Nazario and De Castro were former Sandiganbayan presiding justices and chairwomen of the anti-graft court’s Special Division that tried the plunder case against former President Joseph Estrada.

Nazario, in her letter to Puno, said that apart from De Castro’s unquestionable qualifications as a jurist, her “achievements as a former Presiding Justice of the Sandiganbayan are testament to her skills as a unifying leader and an effective administrator.”

In accepting the nomination, De Castro told the JBC that it is her honor to be considered as successor to Puno and that she has “full faith in the rule of law and the viability of our constitutional processes through which all the burning constitutional issues of the day should be resolved in due course.”

Brion, on the other hand, was nominated by Associate Justice Japar Dimaampao of the Court of Appeals (CA) and Philippine Constitution Association (PHILCONSA) led by its president Manuel Lazaro.

Prior to his appointment to the SC on March 17, 2008, Brion was Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment for two years. He also served as undersecretary of DOLE and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

From 2003 to 2006, Brion was a CA associate justice. He earned his Bachelor of Laws cum laude from the Ateneo Law School in 1974 where he was class valedictorian and recipient of the Golden Leaf Award, Gold Medal for Academic Excellence and First Honors Gold Medal.

Brion topped the 1974 Bar exams. He is currently a member of the SC Committee on Computerization and Library.