The Court of Appeals in Manila. | BG PHOTO: COURT OF APPEALS WEBSITE
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday appointed four new associate justices to fill vacancies in the Court of Appeals (CA), including the sister of Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.
The newly named CA associate justices are: Ferdinand Baylon, Marietta Brawner-Cualing, Mary Josephine Lazaro and Emilio Rodolfo Legaspi III.
The presiding judge of Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 77, Baylon will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of CA Presiding Justice Mariflor Castillo.
Baylon was the judge that quashed the “causeless” search warrants for peace talks consultants Alexander and Winona Birondo in August 2021. The Birondo couple were arrested in July 2019 during a police raid of their apartment in Quezon City.
Before his service on the bench, Baylon was former assistant city prosecutor of Quezon City.
Castillo, who will retire on Sept. 21, was appointed to the CA in 2004 by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and was designated as presiding justice by Mr. Marcos in November 2023.
Brawner kin
Brawner-Cualing, the presiding judge of Benguet RTC Branch 9, will replace Associate Justice Oscar Badelles who retired on April 20. Badelles was named to the CA in 2012 by then President Benigno Aquino III.
Brawner-Cualing is the daughter of former elections commissioner Romeo A. Brawner, who was himself a retired Baguio RTC judge and former CA presiding justice. He was named elections commissioner upon his retirement from the appeals court until his death in 2008.
She is also the sister of AFP chief Romeo Brawner Jr., who chose a career in the military instead of the law. He followed the footsteps of his deceased uncle Brig. Gen. Felix A. Brawner Jr., commander of the army’s First Scout Ranger Regiment in the late 1980s.
In February, the Supreme Court commended Brawner-Cualing and 259 other judges for their efficient disposition of court cases despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lazaro, the presiding judge of the Rizal RTC Branch 74, will take over the seat vacated by associate justice Ramon Garcia.
Legaspi, the presiding judge of the Manila RTC Branch 13, will replace associate justice Alfredo Ampuan who retired on June 6.
Also on Friday, the President administered the oath of office to Jose Francisco Benitez, the new director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).
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In social media posts, Mr. Marcos expressed optimism that Benitez is the right person to lead Tesda with “his strong background in education and public service.”
Benitez, the former congressman of Negros Oriental’s third district, was appointed by the President in mid-August.