MANILA - Three aspirants were tied for first place in the short-list of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) for the vacancies in the Supreme Court after getting seven votes each on Monday.  

University of Santo Tomas College of Law Dean Roberto Abad, Sandiganbayan Justice Francisco Villaruz, and Court of Appeals Justice Martin Villarama got seven votes each in Monday's voting of the JBC, which vets the nominees to the High Court for the appointing authority, the President.

Three aspirants were tied with five votes each from the JBC: Court of Appeals Justices Hakim Abdulwahid and Martin del Castillo, and businessman-lawyer Rodolfo Robles.

President Arroyo will be choosing two from the JBC short-list for the vacancies left by SC Justices Alicia Austria-Martinez and Dante Tinga, who retired on April 30 and May 11, respectively. -- report from Purple S. Romero, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak