The chief justice of the Philippines 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.
Conchita Carpio-Morales is a former Ombudsman of the Philippines serving from 2011 to 2018. Prior to her appointment as Ombudsman, she held the post of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, served in the Lower Courts, as well as in the Department of Justice. She has secured appointments from five Philippine presidents: Ferdinand Marcos, Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and Benigno Aquino III.
The University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law or "UST Law" is a law school in Manila, Philippines. It is administered under the jurisdiction of the University of Santo Tomas, the oldest and the largest Catholic university in the Philippines. It is one of the three law schools of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, with the other two being the Faculty of Canon Law and the Graduate School of Law.
Raul Maravilla Gonzalez was the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and was the Secretary of Justice of the Philippines. He was replaced by Agnes Devanadera in 2009 from the orders of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Gregory Santos Ong is a Filipino jurist and a former Justice of the Sandiganbayan. He was initially appointed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on May 16, 2007, but his appointment was subsequently withdrawn after questions arose whether he met the constitutional requirement of natural-born citizenship. On September 23, 2014, he was found guilty of gross misconduct, dishonesty and impropriety and was subsequently dismissed from his position as Justice of the Sandiganbayan by the Supreme Court of the Philippines as a result of an investigation linking him to pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.
Teresita Leonardo-De Castro is a Filipina who served as the 24th chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines; she was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte on August 28, 2018. She assumed the vacated position once her predecessor, Maria Lourdes Sereno, was removed via a quo warranto petition ; making De Castro the de jure 24th chief justice, and the first female chief justice of the Supreme Court.
The trial of Philippine president Joseph Estrada took place between 2001 and 2007 at the Sandiganbayan. Estrada, popularly called Erap, was resigned from office in 2001 during a popular uprising in Metro Manila after an aborted impeachment trial in which he was charged with plunder and perjury. Soon after his ouster, the same charges were filed against him at the Sandiganbayan.
Francisco Hernandez Villaruz Jr. is a Filipino justice. He was appointed on October 5, 2011, by President Benigno Aquino III as Presiding Justice of the Sandiganbayan replacing Justice Edilberto Sandoval who retired last June 20, 2011. Justice Villaruz has been an Associate Justice of the Sandiganbayan since 2001. He took his oath before Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato C. Corona last October 12, 2011.
Lucas “Luke” Purugganan Bersamin is a Filipino lawyer and jurist who currently serves as the 40th Executive Secretary of the Philippines. Bersamin previously served in the Supreme Court of the Philippines for 10 years, first as an associate justice from 2009 to 2018 and then as the 25th Chief Justice of the Philippines from 2018 until his retirement in 2019. He was named by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to the high court as an associate justice on April 2, 2009. Prior to becoming an associate justice, he was a member of the Court of Appeals.
Maria Lourdes "Meilou" Aranal-Sereno is a Filipina lawyer and judge who served as de facto chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2012 until her removal in 2018.
Samuel Reyes Martires is a Filipino lawyer serving as the Ombudsman of the Philippines since 2018. He was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 2017 to 2018.
Noel Gimenez Tijam is a Filipino lawyer who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from March 8, 2017 to January 5, 2019. Prior to his appointment, he was a justice of Court of Appeals from 2003 to 2017.
The judiciary of the Philippines consists of the Supreme Court, which is established in the Constitution, and three levels of lower courts, which are established through law by the Congress of the Philippines. The Supreme Court has expansive powers, able to overrule political and administrative decisions, and with the ability to craft rules and law without precedent. It further determines the rules of procedure for lower courts, and its members sit on electoral tribunals.
Andres Bernal Reyes Jr. is a Filipino lawyer who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2017 to 2020. He was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte replacing Associate Justice Bienvenido L. Reyes.
Alexander Gahon Gesmundo is serving as the chief justice of the Philippines since April 5, 2021. He replaced Diosdado Peralta, who retired early on March 27, 2021. He previously served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court from 2017 to 2021.
Rosmari Declaro Carandang is a former associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. She was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to replace then-Justice Teresita de Castro.
Samuel Hufano Gaerlan is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to fill Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta's position, which became vacant after Duterte appointed Peralta to be Chief Justice.
Ricardo de Rivera Rosario is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to replace Associate Justice Jose Reyes Jr.
Jhosep Ylarde Lopez is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to replace Associate Justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla who retired on November 3, 2020.
