Metro Manila, Philippines – Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda has been named by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the next chief justice as announced by Malacañang on Thursday, Nov. 5.
Zalameda was in the short list with Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen and Associate Justices Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Japar Dimaampao, and Jose Midas Marquez.
He will succeed Alexander Gesmundo who will be stepping down on Nov. 6 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Here’s what to know about the new chief justice.
Decades in the profession
A profile from the Supreme Court stated that Zalameda passed the Bar examinations in 1988 and was a branch clerk at the Makati City Regional Trial Court for a brief stint.
He then went into private practice for five years before his return to public service in 1995 as a prosecutor. He became city prosecutor of Mandaluyong in 2002.
For 11 years beginning in 2009, Zalameda was an associate justice at the Court of Appeals. He also chaired its 17th division.
Then-President Rodrigo Duterte appointed him to the Supreme Court in 2019, passing the first set of written examinations for magistrate applicants.
Throughout his extensive career in law, he has received numerous awards, including a Distinguished Alumni Award from the Ateneo Law Alumni Association, Inc. in 2022 and a Special Award from the City Government of Caloocan in 2018.
Zalameda earned his Bachelor of Laws degree from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1987 as an academic scholar. He was a dean’s lister, a senior staff at the Ateneo Law Bulletin, and a member of the Fraternal Order of Utopia.
He also received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of the East in 2026.
Zalameda will retire in 2033.
Notable decisions
Critics have expressed concern over the impartiality of the newly chief justice in relation to his decision to overturn the 2018 Sandiganbayan conviction of former first lady Imelda Marcos, mother of the president, for seven counts of graft related to Swiss foundations.
Former presidential spokesperson and Duterte ally Harry Roque had previously called out his possible appointment to the top judicial post as he is supposedly a Marcos supporter.
“My fearless forecast is correct,” Roque said in a post on Thursday, Nov. 5, following the press briefing of Communications Secretary Lino Cayetano announcing Zalameda as the next chief justice.
Apart from Imelda’s acquittal, Zalameda also penned the 39-page landmark decision defining red-tagging, as well as “vilification, labeling, and guilt by association” as threats to a person’s “right to life, liberty, or security,” in connection with the case of activist Siegfred Deduro.
Intentions as chief justice
In his public panel interview on Oct. 26, Zalameda was quoted as saying, “Leadership is ultimately about service, accountability, and enabling others to succeed.”
He added that if appointed chief justice, he would lead with collegiality, believing that this does not mean “the absence of disagreement” but the ability to “disagree without becoming disagreeable.”
Zalameda said he also aims to address inefficiency through additional courthouses and technology, and improved benefits for court employees.
With reports from the Supreme Court of the Philippines
