MANILA - Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra declined Monday his nomination to the Supreme Court, saying he was "still in love" with his agency.

Retired Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Raoul Victorino nominated Guevarra as SC Associate Justice in a November 19 letter to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).

• Guevarra to ‘very seriously’ consider SC nomination ‘at proper time’

Guevarra thanked Victorino as he said he "really considered" applying to the high court in 2016 but he has found something else he "desires."

"Do you know the feeling of someone who has always desired a wonderful person to be his or her spouse in the future? But somewhere along the way, he bumps into someone else whom he likes and desires?" he said.

"Circumstances threw me [to] Padre Faura, not near Taft Avenue but near Robinsons, and I found out it was good, it was exciting. So Justice Victorino thank you for nominating me, but I'm still in love with the DOJ (Department of Justice)."

Guevarra’s nomination was filed for the vacancy left after Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta was named to the high court’s helm last month.

Prior to his appointment as DOJ secretary, Guevarra served as Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs in the Office of the President.

He was also part of the Philippine legal team that filed the arbitration case against China at the Hague over Beijing’s incursions in the disputed South China Sea.

--With reports from Mike Navallo and Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News