PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta as Chief Justice, sources privy to the signing of the appointment papers said.
Peralta will succeed Lucas Bersamin who will retire on October 18.
He is the most senior of the three candidates endorsed by the Judicial and Bar Council for the post. The other two are Associate Justices Estela Perlas-Bernabe and Andres Reyes Jr.
Before he joined the Supreme Court, Peralta was the presiding justice of the Sandiganbayan. He also served as prosecutor in Laoag City and in Manila and a regional trial court judge.
Peralta will lead the Supreme Court as the tribunal, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, deliberates on the electoral protest filed by former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos against Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo.