TWO CHIEFS Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Mariflor Punzalan-Castillo with Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo. —SUPREME COURT PHOTO
President Marcos has appointed Associate Justice Mariflor Punzalan-Castillo as presiding justice of the Court of Appeals (CA).
Castillo, who was among the seven candidates shortlisted by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) that was submitted for President Marcos’ selection, replaced Justice Remedios Salazar Fernando, who retired in September.
Prior to her appointment by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2014, Castillo was the second most senior member of the appellate court and is set to reach retirement age next year.
An alumna of the University of the Philippines, Castillo obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree in 1974 and then her Bachelor of Laws in 1978.
She began her legal career as an investigator in the Office of the Tanodbayan—the precursor of the Ombudsman–in 1979, a position she served until 1985 when she was appointed Prosecutor to the said Office.
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In 1989, she was promoted to Special Prosecution Officer III in the Office of the Special Prosecutor under the Office of the Ombudsman, where she served for four years.
She then joined the judiciary as presiding judge of the Metropolitan Trial Court, Branch 42 of the Quezon City from 1993 to 1999, and, later, as presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 84 of Quezon City, from 1999 to 2004.
As an RTC Judge, she also acted as Special Court Judge for cases involving drugs from 2000 to 2001, and as a Family Court Judge of the same court from 2001 to 2004.
She was appointed as CA Associate Justice in March 2004.
Castillo was also previously shortlisted for an SC post. She was among the candidates for an associate justice position at the high court in 2016. INQ