PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta, a UST Faculty of Civil Law alumnus, as the new chief justice of the Philippines.
Peralta, who graduated from the University in 1979, will succeed Lucas Bersamin, a former UST law professor, who retired on Oct. 18 after serving the judiciary for 33 years.
Among the three nominees endorsed by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to Malacañang, Peralta was the most senior associate justice, having been appointed as the 162nd associate justice of the high court by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2009.
The two others endorsed by the JBC were Associate Justices Estela Perlas-Bernabe and Andres Reyes Jr..
Peralta started his career in government service as prosecutor in Laoag City in 1987. He moved to Manila in 1988, and became a regional trial court judge in Quezon City in 1994.
In 2002, he was promoted to the Sandiganbayan and became its presiding justice in 2008.
He was a professor, lecturer, resource person, and Bar reviewer in criminal law, criminal procedure, remedial law and trial techniques at the UST Faculty of Civil Law, Ateneo de Manila, San Beda College of Law, University of the East and the University of the Philippines Law Center.
Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio served as acting chief justice until his retirement on Oct. 26.
Once Peralta assumes office, he will serve the tribunal until 2022.
Congratulations to the Thomasian community!