PNoy picks 3 judges, UST law prof as new CA justices

President Benigno Aquino III has appointed three judges and a law professor from the University of Santo Tomas as the newest Court of Appeals (CA) justices.

 

In separate transmittal letters signed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., the President informed Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno that he has chosen the following to fill the vacant posts at the appeals court: Marikina Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Geraldine Fiel-Macaraig, Makati RTC Judge Perpetua Atal-Paño, Manila RTC Judge Ruben Reynaldo Roxas, and lawyer Gabriel Robeniol.

 

Aquino chose the four appointees from a shortlist earlier prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council, which is constitutionally mandated to screen and select nominees for vacant posts in the judiciary and Office of the Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman.

 

Macaraig entered the judiciary in 2001 as presiding judge of the Marikina RTC Branch 192. She later served as vice executive judge at the RTC from 2005 to 2007, before becoming executive judge from 2007 to 2011. She is a recipient of a judicial excellence award given by the SC and the Society for Judicial Excellence in 2012.

 

Macaraig, who is taking over the post vacated by CA Justice Rebecca De Guia-Salvador, was sworn in by Sereno last Friday. 

 

Paño, who is taking over the post vacated by CA Justice Abdulwahid Hakim, meanwhile, started out as a judge at the Makati Metropolitan Trial Court. She was honored by the Rotary Club of Manila in 2005 for disposing of 2,000 cases in 2004. She is the daughter-in-law of the late Supreme Court administrator Ernani Paño.

 

Roxas of the Manila RTC Branch 12, on the other hand, will occupy the post vacated by CA Justice Michael Elbinias. 

 

Robeniol, who assumes the post left by CA Justice Isaias Dicdican, currently teaches Alternative Dispute Resolution at the University of Santo Tomas College of Law. He was a former Associate Solicitor at the Office of the Solicitor General. Robeniol took his oath of office before the chief justice last Monday. 

 

During the JBC search, Macaraig, Paño, and Roxas each got six votes from the council, while Robeniol got four.

 

The council is currently chaired by Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, with ex-officio members the Justice Sec. Benjamin Caguioa, and a representative each from the Senate and the House of Representatives. 

 

Completing the council are regular members retired Court of Appeals Associate Justice Aurora Lagman representing the private sector, lawyer Milagros Fernan-Cayosa representing the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, retired Supreme Court Justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez, and lawyer Jose Mejia, representing the academe. — Mark Merueñas/RSJ, GMA News