The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) on Monday closed the nomination for the first appointee of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III to the 15-member Supreme Court (SC).

Court Administrator and SC Spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez said the JBC received 28 applications and nominations for possible appointment to the lone seat in the SC left vacant by the designation of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona last month.

“Twenty-eight are vying to become next SC Justice,” Marquez said in a text message to reporters.

Marquez said among those who applied or agreed to be nominated are Court of Appeals (CA) Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr.,

Acting Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Edilberto Sandoval, and Ambassador Manuel Teehankee, the Philippine representative to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

Teehankee is the son of the late Chief Justice Claudio Teehankee, who swore in Aquino’s mother, former President Corazon Aquino, into power after the People Power Revolution in 1986.

Also in the list of applicants and nominees are Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Francisco Villaruz Jr.; and CA Associate Justices Portia Hormachuelos, Hakim Abdulwahid, Estela Bernabe, Magdangal De Leon, Isaias Dicdican, Noel Tijam, Rosmari Carandang, Remedios Fernando, and Mariflor Punzalan.

Other candidates for the single vacant SC seat are Ateneo Law School Dean Cezar Villanueva, University of the East College of Law Dean Amado Valdez, and former University of the Philippines College of Law Dean Raul Pangalangan.

The JBC is the constitutional body that screens candidates to vacant posts in the judiciary. After screening, the JBC sends to the President a list of nominees where the Chief Executive may choose his appointee.

Besides Corona, other members of the JBC are Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Dean Amado Dimayuga, retired SC Justice Regino Hermosisima Jr., private sector representative Aurora Santiago Lagman, and Integrated Bar of the Philippines representative lawyer J. Conrado Castro.

Corona earlier vowed to speed up the nomination process for Aquino’s first SC appointee.

Under the Constitution, the JBC should submit at least three nominees for a vacant position and the President has 90 days from the date of retirement or the occurrence of vacancy to fill up the position. Since Corona was appointed on May 17, Aquino has until August 17 to appoint his replacement.