Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Justice Secretary Benjamin Caguioa said on Monday (January 18) that he was not expecting to be appointed Supreme Court (SC) justice, merely because he’s a former classmate of the president.
Caguioa leads the shortlist of candidates for the vacant SC seat.
Related: President’s classmate, a candidate for SC post
The Judicial Bar Council (JBC) was now set to submit the list to the president who will choose a replacement for retired Justice Martin Villarama Jr.
Hours after the shortlist was released, Caguioa said he remained focused on his job at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Caguioa and President Benigno Aquino III belonged to the same class in grade school and in college at the Ateneo De Manila University.
He was chief presidential legal counsel before he was appointed DOJ secretary in October last year.
Caguioa said he didn’t think his close relationship with the president would give him an edge over other candidates — noting that the president makes up his own mind not based on personal relationships.
Meanwhile, Caguioa already had someone in mind should he land the SC post: DOJ spokesman Emmanuel Caparas.
CNN Philippines’ AC Nicholls contributed to this report.
