Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo took his oath of office on Monday afternoon, April 5, as the country’s new chief justice and head of the judiciary.
The oath was administered by Senior Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas Bernabe at the session hall of the SC on Padre Faura Street in Ermita, Manila.
Other SC justices, except Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen who was physically present, witnessed and participated in the oath-taking online.
Gesmundo’s appointment by President Duterte was contained in a transmittal letter sent by the Office of the President and received by the SC on Monday afternoon, April 5.
With the appointment of Gesmundo, there is now a vacancy for associate justice in the 15-member SC.
The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) -- the constitutional office that accepts, screens and nominates appointments to the judiciary – is expected to announce its search for applicants to the vacant post.
Chief Justice Gesmundo took over the post vacated last March 27 by the now retired Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta.
He is the fourth chief justice appointed by President Duterte. The President’s earlier appointees were retired Chief Justices Teresita J. Leonardo De Castro, Lucas P. Bersamin and Peralta.
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.
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.
Now 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 JBC, among other positions inherent to his post as head of the judiciary.
He will preside over all full court sessions of the SC on top of overseeing the sessions of the SC’s first division which he also heads, although there is a working chairperson.