By Macon Ramos Araneta

SANDIGANBAYAN Associate Justice Gregory Ong, whose appointment to the Supreme Court was rejected because of citizenship questions, wants to be presiding justice of the anti-graft court.

Ong is one of five applicants for the highest position in the Sandiganbayan. The other contenders are Associate Justices Norberto Geraldez, Cristina Cortez-Estrada, Edilberto Sandoval and Francisco Villaruz.

The Judicial and Bar Council will interview Ong, Geraldez and Cortez-Estrada today (Wednesday), and Sandoval and Villaruz, tomorrow.

The successful applicant, with Malacañang’s approval, will succeed Presiding Justice Diosdado Peralta who was appointed as associate justice of the Supreme Court.

Peralta’s predecessor, Associate Justice Teresita de Castro, who convicted President Joseph Estrada of P4.1-billion plunder, was also named to the Supreme Court.

Ong was recently cleared by the high tribunal on the petition questioning his citizenship filed by one lawyer Ferdinand Topacio. The case was dismissed after the Supreme Court ruled that Topacio has no legal standing to sue.

But the 55-year-old chairman of the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division still has to contend with two petitions to oust him, one filed by the Kilosbayan Foundation of former Senator Jovito Salonga and the letter-petition of Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-ignacio.

Ong has maintained that he is a Filipino citizen. His citizenship became an issue after it appeared in his birth certificate and those of his parents that they are all Chinese citizens.

JBC ex-officio member Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor said there will be an initial screening to determine if Ong’s application will be pursued or not although he will already be subject to an interview by the body.

“Anyway this will all be preliminaries. The Office of the Court Administrator will submit its recommendation as to his status,” Defensor said.

Under the Rules of the JBC, a person with a “pending case” cannot be nominated by the council.