While the Office of the President has yet to make an official announcement, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) on Saturday, April 3, said it welcomes "the appointment of the 27th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Honorable Alexander G. Gesmundo.”
“The appointment comes just a few days after the early retirement of Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta (last March 27), well within the constitutional period within which the appointment must be done,” IBP said through its President Domingo Egon Q. Cayosa.
Last Friday, April 2, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the announcement of the next SC chief justice may have to wait until after the Holy Week, or as soon as a judicial appointment has been formally received by the High Court.
Roque did not confirm nor deny the much-talked about appointment of Gesmundo as head of the judiciary.
The country’s Holy Week celebration winds up on Easter Sunday, April 4.
A check with some SC officials last Friday, April 2, showed that the High Court has not received any official communication on the appointment of a new chief justice.
Presidential Legal Adviser Salvador Panelo, on the other hand, disclosed that Gesmundo is the personal choice of President Duterte to be the next SC chief justice. In a text message to journalists, he confirmed the appointment of Gesmundo as chief justice.
The IBP said “Chief Justice Gesmundo has served our country in various capacities at the Office of the Solicitor General, Presidential Commission on Good Government, Sandiganbayan, and at the Supreme Court.”
It said “his experience, dedication, and integrity as a public servant will greatly matter as he leads the judicial branch during these challenging times.”
“Chief Justice Gesmundo will have over five years to lead the Supreme Court and we look forward to stability and proactive improvements in the justice sector under his watch,” it also said.
Once Gesmundo’s appointment is released and he officially assumes office as chief justice, he is expected to serve the judiciary until 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2026. By 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 6, 2026, he automatically vacates the post as he would turn 70 years old, the mandatory retirement age for members of the judiciary.
Gesmundo would be the President’s fourth chief justice appointee. The President had previously appointed the now retired Chief Justices Teresita J. Leonardo de Castro, Lucas P. Bersamin and Peralta.
It was also the President who appointed Gesmundo as SC associate justice on Aug. 14, 2017. It was a promotion from his post as associate justice of the Sandiganbayan where he was appointed on Oct. 15, 2005.
He finished his law degree at the Ateneo de Manila University in 1984 and passed the bar examinations the following year.
His first public service was as trial attorney at the Office of the Solicitor General in 1985. He was awarded “Most Outstanding Solicitor” in 1998.
From July 17, 1998 to Feb. 15, 2001, he also served as commissioner of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) in concurrent capacity as solicitor before his promotion as assistant solicitor general in 2002.
At the SC, Gesmundo is 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 vice chairperson of the SC’s Special Committee for the Rules of Procedure for Admiralty Cases, Special Committee for the Rules on Inspection (under the Philippine Competition Act), the Sub-Committee for the Revision of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, the Special Committee on the Rules of Procedure in Election Contests before the First Level Courts.
He is also a member of the Supreme Court Committees on Computerization and Library, on the Revision of the Rules of Court and the Special Committee on Speedy Trial.
Once he assumes office as chief justice, Gesmundo may have to relinquish his posts in many committees of the SC as he would be the head of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal and ex-officio chairman of the Judicial and Bar Council, among other positions inherent to his post as head of the judiciary.
The SC as announced the resumption of the oral arguments on Tuesday, April 6, on 37 petitions which challenged the alleged unconstitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
Gesmundo, once he assumes the post of chief justice, will preside over all full court sessions of the SC. The petitions against ATA have been consolidated into one petition which is an en banc (full court) case.