Chief Justice of the Philippines

highest judicial officer

The Chief Justice of the Philippines (Filipino: Punong Mahistrado ng Pilipinas) is the judge in charge of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. They are the highest ranking judge in the government of the Philippines. The current chief justice is Alexander Gesmundo. He was chosen to be the chief justice by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2021.

Chief Justice of the Philippines
Punong Mahistrado ng Pilipinas
Seal of the Supreme Court
Flag of the Supreme Court
Incumbent
Alexander Gesmundo

since April 5, 2021
StyleThe Honorable (formal)
Your Honor (when addressed directly in court)
Member of
AppointerPresidential appointment upon nomination by the Judicial and Bar Council
Term lengthRetirement at the age of 70
Inaugural holder
  • 1583 - Dr. Santiago de Vera y Rivas, Captain-General of the Spanish East Indies (Real Audiencia, Spanish East Indies)
  • 1901 - Cayetano Arellano (Supreme Court of the Philippines)
FormationJune 11, 1901
WebsiteOfficial Website

List of chief justices

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# Image Chief Justice Term Appointed by Law school
1   Cayetano Arellano June 11, 1901 – April 12, 1920
(18 years, 306 days)
William McKinley Republican UST
2   Victorino Mapa July 1, 1920 – October 31, 1921
(1 year, 122 days)
Woodrow Wilson Democratic UST
3   Manuel Araullo November 1, 1921 – July 26, 1924
(2 years, 268 days)
Warren G. Harding Republican UST
4   Ramón Avanceña April 1, 1925 – December 24, 1941
(16 years, 267 days)
Calvin Coolidge Republican UST
5   José Abad Santos1 December 24, 1941 – May 2, 1942
(129 days)
Manuel L. Quezon Nacionalista Northwestern
6 José Yulo May 7, 1942 – July 9, 1945
(3 years, 63 days)
Masaharu Homma Miliitary UP
7   Manuel Moran July 9, 1945 – March 20, 1951
(5 years, 254 days)
Sergio Osmeña Nacionalista Escuela de Derecho
8   Ricardo Paras April 2, 1951 – February 17, 1961
(9 years, 321 days)
Elpidio Quirino Liberal UP
9   César Bengzon April 28, 1961 – May 29, 1966
(5 years, 31 days)
Carlos P. Garcia Nacionalista UP
10   Roberto Concepcion June 17, 1966 – April 18, 1973
(6 years, 305 days)
Ferdinand Marcos UST
11   Querube Makalintal October 21, 1973 – December 22, 1975
(2 years, 62 days)
UP
12   Fred Ruiz Castro January 5, 1976 – April 19, 1979
(3 years, 104 days)
UP
13   Enrique Fernando July 2, 1979 – July 24, 1985
(6 years, 22 days)
KBL UP
14   Felix Makasiar July 25, 1985 – November 19, 1985
(117 days)
UP
15   Ramon Aquino November 20, 1985 – March 6, 1987
(1 year, 106 days)
UP
16   Claudio Teehankee, Sr. April 2, 1987 – April 18, 1988
(1 year, 16 days)
Corazon Aquino UNIDO Ateneo
17   Pedro Yap April 19, 1988 – June 30, 1988
(72 days)
Independent UP
18   Marcelo Fernan July 1, 1988 – December 6, 1991
(3 years, 158 days)
UP
19   Andres Narvasa December 8, 1991 – November 30, 1998
(6 years, 357 days)
UST
20   Hilario Davide Jr. November 30, 1998 – December 20, 2005
(7 years, 20 days)
Joseph Estrada LAMMP UP
21   Artemio Panganiban December 20, 2005 – December 7, 2006
(351 days)
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Lakas FEU
22   Reynato Puno December 8, 2006 – May 17, 2010
(3 years, 160 days)
UP
23   Renato Corona2 May 17, 2010 – May 29, 20123
(2 years, 12 days)
Ateneo
  Maria Lourdes Sereno3 August 25, 2012 – May 11, 20184
(5 years, 259 days)
(de facto)
Benigno Aquino III Liberal UP
24   Teresita de Castro August 28, 2018 – October 10, 2018
(44 days)
Rodrigo Duterte PDP–Laban UP
25   Lucas Bersamin November 26, 2018 – October 18, 2019
(324 days)
UE
26   Diosdado Peralta October 23, 2019 – March 27, 2021
(1 year, 155 days)
UST
27   Alexander Gesmundo April 5, 2021 – present
(3 years, 211 days)
Ateneo
^1 José Abad Santos was unable to preside over the Supreme Court due to the outbreak of World War II.
^2 Renato Corona was impeached on December 12, 2011, and convicted on May 29, 2012, removing him from office.
^3 Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio served as acting Chief Justice after the Impeachment of Renato Corona from May 30, 2012 to August 25, 2012[1] and after the removal of Maria Lourdes Sereno via quo warranto proceedings from May 14, 2018 to August 25, 2018.
^4 Maria Lourdes Sereno was removed on May 11, 2018 via quo warranto by a special en banc session; the petition alleged Sereno's appointment was void ab initio due to her failure in complying with the requirements of the Judicial and Bar Council. Hence her entire term as Chief Justice is considered a de facto tenure;[2] legally void since the ouster of her predecessor. Sereno filed an ad cautelam motion for reconsideration pleading for the reversal of the decision on May 31, 2018, but on June 19, 2018 was denied with finality (meaning no further pleading shall be entertained, as well as for the immediate entry for judgment) for lack of merit.[3]

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References

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  1. "Carpio is acting chief justice under SC order". Philippine Daily Inquirer. May 30, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  2. "G.R. No. 237428. May 11, 2018" (PDF). Supreme Court of the Philippines. May 11, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 20, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  3. "G.R. No. 237428. June 19, 2018" (PDF). Supreme Court of the Philippines. June 19, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  4. Updated daily according to UTC.