Aquino appoints new SolGen

Newly appointed Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza. INQUIRER PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III has appointed Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Francis H. Jardeleza as the new Solicitor General.

Jardeleza will replace Jose Anselmo Cadiz, who resigned on Sunday as Solicitor General, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said Saturday.

During his term as chief state lawyer, Cadiz argued for the distribution of Hacienda Luisita, a vast sugar estate owned by the family of Aquino in Tarlac.

Jardeleza served as senior vice president and general counsel of the food and beverage giant San Miguel Corporation.

A graduate from the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law, Jardeleza placed third in the 1974 Bar exams and completed his master of laws in Harvard University in the United States.