Manila, May 13 -- Public interviews for applicants vying for the post of Supreme Court (SC) associate justice, to be vacated by Associate Justice Mario Lopez, who retires on June 4, are set from May 14 to 21, the Judicial Bar and Council (JBC) announced on Tuesday.

Lopez's replacement will be the first magistrate to be appointed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to the SC.

A total of 17 applicants are vying for the post, including members of the Court of Appeals (CA), Sandiganbayan, Court of Tax Appeals (CTA), and the academe.

The applicants from the CA are Justices Fernanda Peralta (1st Division chair), Ramon Bato Jr. (2nd Division chair), Nina Antonio-Valenzuela (8th Division chair), Myra Garcia-Fernandez (6th Division chair), Ma....