Chief Justice of the Philippines
Punong Mahistrado ng Pilipinas
Alexander Gesmundo
since April 5, 2021
Your Honour (when addressed directly in court)
- Supreme Court
- Presidential Electoral Tribunal
- Judicial and Bar Council
- 1583 - Dr. Santiago de Vera y Rivas, Captain-General of the Spanish East Indies (Real Audiencia, Spanish East Indies)
- 1901 - Cayetano Arellano (Supreme Court of the Philippines)
The chief justice of the Philippines (Filipino: Punong Mahistrado ng Pilipinas) presides over the Supreme Court and is the highest judicial officer of the government of the Philippines. As of April 5, 2021, the position is currently held by Alexander Gesmundo, who was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte following the early retirement of his predecessor, Diosdado Peralta, in March 2021.
The chief justice, who was first named on June 11, 1901, in the person of Cayetano Arellano, is the oldest existing major governmental office continually held by a Filipino, preceding the presidency and vice presidency (1935), senators (1916, or as the Taft Commission, on September 1, 1901) and the members of the House of Representatives (1907 as the Philippine Assembly).
Duties and powers
The power to appoint the chief justice lies with the president of the Philippines, who makes the selection from a list of three nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council. There is no material difference in the process of selecting a chief justice from that in the selection of associate justices. As with the other justices of the Supreme Court, the chief justice is obliged to retire upon reaching the age of 70; otherwise there is no term limit for the chief justice. In the 1935 constitution, any person appointed by the president has to be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments; in the 1973 constitution, the person whom the president appointed did not have to undergo confirmation under the Commission on Appointments.
The current 1987 constitution does not ascribe any formal role to the chief justice other than as an ex-officio chairman of the Judicial and Bar Council and as the presiding officer in any impeachment trial of the president. The chief justice is also required to personally certify every decision that is rendered by the court. The chief justice carries only 1 vote out of 15 in the court, and is generally regarded, vis-a-vis the other justices, as the primus inter pares rather than as the administrative superior of the other members of the court.
Still, the influence a chief justice may bear within the court and judiciary, and on the national government cannot be underestimated. In the public eye, any particular Supreme Court is widely identified with the identity of the incumbent chief justice, hence appellations such as "The Fernando Court" or "The Puno Court". Moreover, the chief justice usually retains high public visibility, unlike the associate justices, who tend to labor in relative anonymity, with exceptions such as Associate Justice J. B. L. Reyes in the 1950s to 1970s.
By tradition, it is also the chief justice who swears into office the president of the Philippines. One notable deviation from that tradition came in 1986, and later again in 2010. Due to the exceptional political circumstances culminating in the People Power Revolution, on February 25, 1986, Corazon Aquino took her oath of office as president before Associate Justice Claudio Teehankee in San Juan just minutes before Ferdinand Marcos took his own oath of office also as president before Chief Justice Ramon Aquino. Marcos fled into exile later that night. More than two decades afterwards, Benigno Simeon Aquino III followed in his mother's footsteps (with almost similar reasons) by having Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales administer his oath of office, rather than Chief Justice Renato Corona (who was eventually impeached halfway through Aquino's term). Six years later, in 2016, Rodrigo Duterte took his oath of office before Associate Justice Bienvenido Reyes, his classmate at San Beda College of Law, instead of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno (who would eventually be removed from her position through quo warranto after it was determined that she had been unlawfully holding office ab initio).
The chief justice also names the three justices each from the Supreme Court in the memberships of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal and the Senate Electoral Tribunal.
The chief justice is the chief executive officer of the Philippine judiciary system and together with the whole Supreme Court, exercises administrative supervision over all courts and personnel.
List
No. | Chief Justice | DOB | Term Started | App By | LS | PO | TE | Death and age |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 Mar 1847 (0.16 years) | Jun 15, 1901 (54.29 years) (0.45 years) | McKinley | UST | SCP (1899–1901) | Apr 12, 1920 (18 years, 302 days) (Resigned)(73.08 years) (0.25 years) | Dec 23, 1920 73 years, 293 days (73.81 years) | |
2 | Feb 25, 1852 (0.15 years) | Jul 1, 1920 (68.35 years) (0.5 years) | Wilson | UST | SOJ (1913–1920) SCAJ (1901–1913) | Oct 31, 1921 (1 year, 122 days) (Resigned)(69.68 years) (0.83 years) | Apr 12, 1927 75 years, 46 days (75.13 years) (0.32 years) | |
3 | Jan 01, 1853 (0 years) | Nov 1, 1921 (68.83 years) (0.84 years) | Harding | UST | SCAJ (1913–1921) | Jul 26, 1924 (2 years, 268 days) (Died)(0.57 years) | Jul 26, 1924 71 years, 207 days (71.56 years) | |
4 | Ramon Avanceña | Apr 13, 1872 (0.28 years) | Apr 1, 1925 (52.96 years) (0.25 years) | Coolidge | UST | SCAJ (1917–1925) | Dec 5, 1941 (16 years, 267 days) (Resigned)(69.64 years) (0.92 years) | Jun 12, 1957 85 years, 60 days (85.16 years) (0.44 years) |
5 | Feb 19, 1886 (0.13 years) | Dec 24, 1941 (55.84 years) (0.98 years) | Quezon | Northwestern | SCAJ (1932–1941) | May 2, 19421 (128 days) (Died)(0.33 years) | May 02, 1942 56 years, 72 days (56.2 years) | |
6 | Jose Yulo | Sep 24, 1894 (0.73 years) | Jan 26, 1942 (47.34 years) (0.07 years) | Homma | UP | S OT NA (1939–1941) | Jul 9, 1945 (3 years, 63 days) (Resigned)(50.79 years) (0.52 years) | October 02, 1976 82 years, 8 days (82.02 years) (0.75 years) |
7 | Oct 27, 1893 (0.82 years) | Jul 9, 1945 (51.7 years) (0.52 years) | Osmeña | EDD | SCAJ (1938–1945) | Mar 20, 1951 (5 years, 254 days) (Resigned)(67.39 years) (0.21 years) | Aug 23, 1961 67 years, 300 days (67.82 years) (0.64 years) | |
8 | Feb 17, 1891 (0.13 years) | April 2, 1951 (60.12 years) (0.25 years) | Quirino | UP | SCAJ (1941–1951) | Feb 17, 1961 (9 years, 321 days) (Retired)(0.13 years) | 10 Oct 1984 93 years, 236 days (93.64 years) (0.77 years) | |
9 | May 29, 1896 (0.41 years) | Apr 28, 1961 (64.91 years) (0.32 years) | Garcia | SCAJ (1945–1961) | May 29, 1966 (5 years, 31 days) (Retired) | 3 Sep 1992 96 years, 97 days (96.26 years) 0.67 years | ||
10 | Jun 7, 1903 (0.43 years) | Jun 17, 1966 (63.03 years) (0.46 years) | Marcos, Sr. | UST | SCAJ (1954–1966) | Apr 18, 1973 (6 years, 305 days) (Retired)(69.87 years) (0.29 years) | Apr 3, 1987 83 years, 300 days (83.82 years) (0.25 years) | |
11 | 22 Dec 1910 (0.97 years) | Oct 21, 1973 (62.83 years) (0.8 years) | Marcos, Sr. | UP | SCAJ (1962–1973) | Dec 22, 1975 (2 years, 62 days) (Retired) | 8 Nov 2002 91 years, 333 days (91.91 years) 0.85 years | |
12 | Sep 02, 1914 (0.67 years) | Jan 5, 1976 (61.34 years) (0.01 years) | Marcos, Sr. | UP | SCAJ (1966–1976) | Apr 19, 1979 (3 years, 104 days) (Died) | Apr 19, 1979 64 years, 229 days (64.63 years) (1979.3) | |
13 | 25 Jul 1915 (0.56 years) | July 2, 1979 (63.94 years) (0.5 years) | Marcos, Sr. | UP | SCAJ (1967–1979) | July 25, 1985 (6 years, 22 days) (Retired) | October 13, 2004 89 years, 80 days (89.22 years) (2004.78) | |
14 | Felix Makasiar | Nov 20, 1915 (1915.88) | Jul 25, 1985 (69.68 years) (1988.56) | Marcos, Sr. | UP | SCAJ (1970–1985) | Nov 19, 1985 (1985.88) | Feb 19, 1992 74 years, 172 days (74.47 years) (1992.13) |
15 | Aug 31, 1917 (0.66 years) | Nov 20, 1985 68 years, 81 days (68.22 years) (0.88 years) | Marcos, Sr. | UP | SCAJ (1973–1985) | Mar 6, 1986 (106 days) (Resigned)68.51 years 0.18 years | March 31, 1993 75 years, 212 days (75.58 years) (0.24 years) | |
16 | Apr 18, 1918 (0.3 years) | Apr 2, 1986 67 years, 349 days (67.96 years) (0.29 years) | C. Aquino | Ateneo | AJ- SC (1969–1987) | Apr 18, 1988 (1 year, 16 days) (Retired) | Nov 27, 1989 71 years, 223 days (71.61 years) (0.9 years) | |
17 | Jul 1, 1918 (0.5 years) | Apr 19, 1988 69 years, 293 days (69.8 years) (0.3 years) | C. Aquino | UP | SCAJ (1986–1988) | Jul 1, 1988 (73 days) (Retired)(0.5 years) | Nov 20, 2003 85 years, 142 days (85.39 years) (0.88 years) | |
18 | Oct 27, 1926 0.79 years | Jul 1, 1988 61 years, 248 days (61.68 years) 0.5 years | C. Aquino | UP | SCAJ (1986–1988) | Dec 6, 1991 (3 years, 158 days) (Resigned)0.93 years | Jul 11, 1999 72 years, 260 days (72.71 years) (0.52 years) | |
19 | Nov 30, 1928 0.91 years | Dec 8, 1991 63 years, 8 days (63.03 years) 0.93 years | C. Aquino | UST | SCAJ (1986–1991) | Nov 30, 1998 (6 years, 357 days) (Retired) | Oct 31, 2013 84 years, 335 days (84.92 years) | |
20 | Dec 20, 1935 0.97 years | Nov 30, 1998 62 years, 345 days (62.95 years) 0.91 years | Estrada | UP | SCAJ (1991–1998) | Dec 20, 2005 (7 years, 20 days) (Retired)0.97 years | Living 88 years, 100 days (88.28 years) (0.24 years) | |
21 | Dec 7, 1937 0.93 years | Dec 20, 2005 68 years, 13 days (68.04 years) 0.97 years | Macapagal-Arroyo | FEU | SCAJ (1995–2005) | Dec 7, 2007 (1 year, 352 days) (Retired) | Living 86 years, 113 days (86.31 years) (0.24 years) | |
22 | May 17, 1940 0.38 years | Dec 7, 2007 65.6 years 0.93 years | Macapagal-Arroyo | UP | SCAJ (1993–2007) | May 17, 2010 (2 years, 161 days) (Retired)0.38 years | Living 83 years, 317 days (83.87 years) (0.24 years) | |
23 | Oct 15, 1948 0.79 years | May 17, 2010 (61.59 years) 0.37 years | Macapagal-Arroyo | Ateneo | SCAJ (2002–2010) | May 29, 20122 3 (2 years, 12 days) (Impeached)(63.62 years) 0.41 years | Apr 29, 2016 67 years, 197 days (67.54 years) (0.33 years) | |
– | Jul 2, 1960 0.5 years | Aug 25, 2012 (50.15 years) 0.65 years | Aquino III | UP | SCAJ (2010–2012) | May 11, 20183 4 (5 years, 259 days) (De facto Chief Justice, appointment null and void ab initio)(57.86 years) 0.36 years | Living 63 years, 271 days (63.74 years) (0.24 years) | |
24 | Oct 10, 1948 0.77 years | Aug 28, 2018 69.88 years 0.65 years | Duterte | UP | SCAJ (2007–2018) | Oct 10, 20183 5 (43 days) (Retired)0.77 years | Living 75 years, 171 days (75.47 years) (0.24 years) | |
25 | Oct 18, 1949 1.8 years | Nov 26, 2018 (69.11 years) 0.9 years | Duterte | UE | SCAJ (2009–2018) | October 18, 2019 (70) (326 days) (Retired)0.79 years | Living 74 years, 163 days (74.45 years) (0.24 years) | |
26 | Mar 27, 1952 0.24 years | Oct 23, 2019 67.57 years 0.81 years | Duterte | UST | SCAJ (2009–2019) | Mar 27, 2021 69 years | Living 72 years, 2 days (72.01 years) (0.24 years) | |
27 | Nov 6, 1957 0.85 years | Apr 5, 2021 64.41 years 0.26 years | Duterte | ADMU | SCAJ (2017–2021) | present (2 years, 359 days)67.39 years 0.24 years | Living 67 years, 144 days (67.39 years) (0.24 years) |
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Acting Chief JusticesThe following became Senior Associate Justices in their tenure in the Supreme Court:
DemographicsBy age group
By gender
By appointing president
By law school
Notable chief justices
TimelineBy term in officeAge Timelineage by Chief Justice 65.11 years
By Law SchoolGallery
See also
References
Further reading
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