By Gillian M. Cortez
Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro has been named the new Supreme Court (SC) chief justice, a little over a month before she retires from the High Court.
Justice Secretary and Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) Ex Officio Member Menardo I. Guevarra said in a text message to reporters on Saturday, Aug. 25, that the SC’s most senior associate justice “is the new (Chief Justice).”
Ms. De Castro will turn 70 this Oct. 8, which is the mandatory retirement age of the High Court’s magistrates.
He added that the announcement came from Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” T. Go and that the formal appointment will be released on Tuesday, Aug. 28. The announcement of Ms. De Castro’s appointment comes just a day after JBC submitted the name of Ms. De Castro along with the names of Associate Justices Diosdado M. Peralta and Lucas P. Bersamin to President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
According to her profile posted on the SC’s website, the new Ms. De Castro’s career spans more than four decades, first starting as a law clerk in 1973 and eventually becoming a legal assistant. She then moved to the Department of Justice where she was Assistant Chief State Counsel. Around this period, she was also an international and peace negotiator during the terms of former presidents Corazon C. Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos.
She moved on to the Sandiganbayan where she eventually became its presiding justice. One of the notable cases she handled in the Sandiganbayan was the plunder case of Former President and current Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Ejercito Estrada.
Ms. De Castro was appointed associate justice by former President and current House of Representatives Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2007. She was twice nominated for the position of chief justice but lost the post to former Chief Justices Renato Antonio N. Corona and Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno.
“Her appointment as chief justice is a fitting finale to her illustrious career in both the dept. of justice and the judiciary,”Mr. Guevarra said.
In a text message to reporters, Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque welcomed the appointment and said “Bravo! Best choice for CJ! Proven competence, known nationalist and a streak of being a judicial activist!”
Solicitor General Jose C. Calida said in a tweet on Saturday “The OSG (Office of the Solicitor General) family and I rejoice in the well-deserved appointment of Justice Teresita L. De Castro as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. We are elated because her legal brilliance, competence, fairness and integrity ensure that justice will be well-served during her tenure.”
Mr. Calida dismissed a private citizen’s request last April to oust Ms. De Castro via quo warranto for the same reason former Chief Justice Sereno was removed from the post, which was failure to submit her complete SALNs.
JBC Ex Officio Member and Blue Ribbon Committee Chair Senator Richard J. Gordon also welcomed Ms. De Castro’s appointment, saying “She will do very well with her experience as a legal luminary for 45 years. Highly bright, competent and a woman of the law.”

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