Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — President Benigno Aquino III has appointed Justice Secretary Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa as the new Supreme Court (SC) associate justice.
The announcement was made on Twitter by the SC on Friday (January 22).
He is the sixth appointee at the high court by Aquino, and replaced retired Associate Justice Martin Villarama Jr. who applied for optional retirement.
Villarama cited his deteriorating health brought about by his double-knee metal implantation in 2013 and his cataract operation last year as the reason behind his retirement. He is supposed to retire on April 14, 2016, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Others shortlisted by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) were Court of Appeals (CA) Presiding Justice Andres Reyes, Jr., CA Associate Justice Jose Reyes, Jr., former Commission on Audit chairperson Maria Gracia Pulido-Tan, and CA Associate Justice Apolinario Bruselas, Jr.
Palace Communications Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. said Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. has transmitted the appointment letter to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Friday.
In a statement, Sereno welcomed the newly-appointed associate justice.
“I am happy that we are once again a complete Court as there is a lot of work to be done which I expect Justice Caguioa to actively take part in,” she said.
A former classmate of Aquino
Caguioa was the president’s chief legal counsel in 2013. He was then appointed as secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in October 2015 after Senate candidate Leila de Lima resigned from the position.
He and Aquino belonged to the same class in grade school and college at the Ateneo De Manila University (AdMU). But the newly-appointed SC justice said he doesn’t think his close relationship with the president would give him an edge over other candidates.
He said the president makes decisions not based on personal relationships.
15th in 1985 bar exams
Caguioa graduated from AdMU with a degree in Economics (Honors Program) in 1981. He then graduated with honors from the university’s College of Law in 1985, ranking fifth in his class.
He passed the 1985 bar exams, placing 15th.
With Caguioa leaving his post at the DOJ vacant, the president has appointed Justice Undersecretary Emmanuel Caparas as the acting secretary of the department, Ochoa said. Caparas also served as the DOJ spokesperson.
