Former elections official named CA presiding justice

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Remedios Salazar Fernando as CA Presiding Justice on Nov. 24, Malacañang confirmed on Wednesday.

“We are confident that Presiding Justice Fernando would serve the CA with the same judicial excellence, dedication and integrity she demonstrated in her years of service at the CA,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said in a statement. “Good luck and we wish her all the best in her future undertakings.”

Fernando, 67, who has been acting presiding justice since the retirement of Romeo Barza in August last year, was the only candidate who received the unanimous vote of the seven-member Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), which recommends appointees for vacancies in the Supreme Court, other lower courts, the Legal Education Board, and the Ombudsman, his deputy ombudsman and the special prosecutor.

She also received a unanimous vote from the JBC when she was first considered for CA presiding justice in 2017, but the President chose to name Barza, one of the founding members of Carpio Villaraza Cruz law office.

Fernando, who has a psychology degree from the College of the Holy Spirit, earned her law degree from the Ateneo De Manila University.

Fernando started her public career as a Supreme Court law clerk before working for the Presidential Management Staff.

She was also chair of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and served as a commissioner of the Commission on Elections before her appointment to the CA by President Joseph Estrada in 1999. She was sworn in by Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta at the Supreme Court on Wednesday.