Duterte says he has chosen next Chief Justice

President Rodrigo Duterte. (INQUIRER.net file photo)

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday night said that he had already chosen a new Supreme Court Chief Justice.

“I have appointed one,” the President told reporters in Bohol. “I have already signed the appointment before I left Manila the other night. So I’ve chosen one already.”

The President, however, refused to name his latest appointee.

“The office will release the appointment,” he said. “You wait for it, the official announcement.”

The new chief magistrate will replace former Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro who retired in October.

READ: JBC exec: All 5 candidates on Chief Justice shortlist

Included in the shortlist for the top SC post were acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, and Andres Reyes Jr. /atm