Supreme Court Associate Justice Teresita de Castro is the new Chief Justice.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, an ex-officio member of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), announced Saturday that President Rodrigo Duterte has chosen De Castro among the shortlist submitted to him by the JBC.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque lauded the selection of De Castro as the country’s top magistrate.
“Bravo! Best choice for CJ! Proven competence, known nationalist and a streak of being a judicial activist,” he said in a statement.
De Castro has served the Judiciary for over 40 years, starting as a law clerk in 1973.
She had been the presiding justice of the Sandiganbayan in 2004 until her appointment to the Supreme Court by then president and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2007.
She is replacing Maria Lourdes Sereno who was ousted from the High Court through a quo warranto petition. De Castro was one of the eight sitting justices who voted in favor of Sereno’s ouster.
De Castro’s term however will only be for two months as she is set to retire in October, when she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.