The number of aspirants to the Supreme Court post to be vacated by Justice Ruben Reyes on December 18 has dwindled from 16 to 14. Justice Jose Reyes Jr. of the appellate court and Justice Ernesto Acosta, presiding justice of the Court of Tax Appeals, backed out from the race to the High Tribunal.
 
In an interview with abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak, Acosta cited his heavy work  load in the CTA as his reason for withdrawing his application. “I still have lot of paper work to finish,” he said.
 
Reyes declined to talk further about his decision, but his staff said that the justice opted to drop out of the competition for “there are still opportunities to apply next year.”
 
Acosta, who withdrew his application as early as last week, said, “There are lots of chances to apply again,” he said.
 
Acosta is scheduled to retire from the judiciary on December 21, 2012, while Reyes will leave the Court of Appeals on September 18, 2020.
 
Countdown
 
Reyes and Acosta left the field clear for seven other contenders from the Court of Appeals, three from Sandiganbayan, three from the private sector, and one from the Office of the of Solicitor General (OSG).
 
One among these justices -- Diosdado Peralta, Francisco Villaruz and Edilberto Sandoval -- could follow in the footsteps of former Sandiganbayan Justice Teresita de Castro who was appointed to the High Court. De Castro, head of the special court which convicted deposed president Joseph Estrada of plunder last year, was appointed as SC justice on December 4, 2007.
 
She was plucked out from a list which also contained Sandoval and Villaruz.  
 
Meanwhile, OSG Agnes Devanadera, who was reportedly eyeing the post since last year, was also nominated to replace Justice Ruben Reyes.
 
The retirement of Reyes paves the way for six other vacancies in the High Court, all of which would be filled up by President Arroyo before her term ends in 2010.
 
Reyes was due to leave the SC on January 2, 2009. He will be followed by Justice Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez, who will quit her post on April 30, 2009, more than a year earlier before her compulsory retirement on December 19, 2010, for health reasons.
 
The next appointments to the Supreme Court are deemed crucial in protecting the independence of the judiciary. Prior appointments to the High Tribunal have reportedly cemented fears that the Supreme Court post is dangled as a carrot to those loyal to the administration. 
 
abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak’s voting pattern analysis (See: “In the High Court, some justices are more loyal than others”) showed that recent appointees to the Supreme Court – Reyes, De Castro and Justice Arturo Brion – have all voted in favor of the executive in key political cases.