Alexander Gesmundo appointed as Supreme Court’s 27th chief justice
The Philippines’ new Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo is reportedly President Duterte’s personal choice among three candidates.
In a virtual press briefing Monday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed that President Duterte has signed the appointment of Gesmundo, who was the President’s top pick among those who applied for the post, including Senior Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe and Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando.
Associate Justices Marvic Leonen and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa were also nominated but both reportedly did not submit their applications.
As Gesmundo fills in the spot vacated by Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta, who retired last March 27, he becomes the fourth chief justice appointed under the Duterte administration, including Chief Justices Teresita Leonardo-de Castro and Lucas Bersamin.
Gesmundo, an Ateneo alumnus, was appointed to the Supreme Court as Associate Justice in 2017. Prior to that, he was appointed as Associate Justice of the Sandiganbayan in 2005.
After passing the Bar in 1985, he entered government service the same year as trial attorney in the Office of the Solicitor General. In 2002, he was promoted as Assistant Solicitor General.
At the Supreme Court, Gesmundo is the chairperson of the Technical Working Group for the Revision of the Law Student Practice Rule, and the Organizing Committee for the 2019 Legal Education Summit.
He is also a member of the Committees on Computerization and Library on the Revision of the Rules of Court and the Special Committee on Speedy Trial.
Gesmundo also penned the decision that junked the petition against the constitutionality of Bayanihan Heal As One Act, the law that gave the President additional powers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Those decisions he concurred in include the denial of Leila de Lima’s appeal on the writ of habeas data against Duterte, and the denial of the petition to release the President’s health records. He also voted to oust former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno in 2018.
He also concurred in allowing the third martial law extension in Mindanao, and the legality of Duterte’s proclamation of Boracay’s temporary closure in 2018.
The 64-year-old Chief Justice is set to lead the Supreme Court for over five years until his expected retirement on Nov. 6, 2026.
Banner and thumbnail photos from sc.judiciary.gov.ph