By el Amigo
MANILA — Supreme Court Associate Justice Rodil V. Zalameda is set to take over the country’s highest judicial post after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. selected him to succeed retiring Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo.
Presidential Communications Office Secretary Lino Cayetano announced the President’s choice, ending the anticipation over who would lead the Supreme Court following Gesmundo’s mandatory retirement on November 6.
Cayetano underscored the importance of the appointment, saying the selection of a Chief Justice is among the most consequential responsibilities entrusted to the President under the Constitution.
Marcos’ choice came from a shortlist of five Supreme Court magistrates endorsed by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), the constitutional body responsible for screening and recommending nominees for vacancies in the judiciary.
The other nominees were Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen and Associate Justices Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Japar Dimaampao and Jose Midas Marquez.
Zalameda brings extensive judicial and government experience to the position.
He joined the Supreme Court on August 6, 2019, following his appointment by then-President Rodrigo Duterte. His selection followed the first-ever written examinations introduced for applicants seeking a seat in the High Court.
Before his elevation, Zalameda spent 11 years as an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals, where he chaired the 17th Division.
His career in public service also included stints in the trial courts, private legal practice and prosecution service. He joined the judiciary as a branch clerk at the Makati Regional Trial Court before entering private practice from 1990 to 1995.
He returned to government service in 1995 as a public prosecutor and was subsequently appointed Mandaluyong City Prosecutor in 2002. He became a Court of Appeals justice in September 2008.
A graduate of Ateneo de Manila University, Zalameda earned his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1987 and passed the Bar examinations in 1988.
His elevation marks another leadership transition for the Supreme Court, which serves as the country’s highest judicial authority and exercises administrative supervision over all courts and their personnel.
Gesmundo, who assumed the Chief Justice post in 2021, is scheduled to step down upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.
