The Supreme Court (SC) appointed on Tuesday, March 1, former regional trial court (RTC) Judge Raul Bautista Villanueva as head of the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA).
He had been deputy court administrator for more than 12 years and was designated by the SC as OCA’s officer-in-charge when then Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez was appointed SC associate justice on Nov. 16, 2021.
It is through OCA that the SC exercises administrative supervision over all lower courts in the country.
Villanueva earned his bachelor of arts degree from the University of the Philippines where he also obtained his law degree in 1990.
He joined the judiciary in 2002 when he was appointed RTC judge in Las Pinas City where he also served as executive judge starting in 2009.
He was actively involved in the Philippine Judges Association (PJA) where he served as executive vice president.
As deputy court administrator, Villanueva was assigned to supervise several judicial regions. At one instance, he had to supervise Regions 1 to 12.
He is the chairperson of three bids and awards committee in the SC. He is also a professorial lecturer of the Philippine Judicial Academy, the education arm of the judiciary, where he is chairperson of its Court Management Department.