MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has chosen Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda as the country’s 28th Supreme Court (SC) chief justice, Malacañang announced on Thursday, November 5.

Zalameda, the third most senior among the chief justice nominees, replaces Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo who will retire on Friday, November 6. Zalameda will serve as chief justice for seven years or until August 2033, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.

As top magistrate, Zalameda will be the head of the judiciary and all courts in the country. He is tasked to steer the judiciary’s direction, along with the 14 associate justices of the High Court.

For Zalameda’s appointment, Marcos skipped seniority.

He bypassed Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the second most senior SC justice since May 2022; and Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa. Then-president Benigno Aquino III appointed Leonen in November 2012, and Caguioa in January 2016.

Zalameda authored the SC 1st Division’s ruling that cleared the President’s mother, Imelda Marcos, of seven counts of graft related to Swiss foundations.

The 50-page decision, which had the concurrence of 1st Division members, overturned the Sandiganbayan’s November 2018 decision that convicted the 97-year-old former first lady of seven counts of graft. (READ: Supreme Court acquits Imelda Marcos in 7 counts of graft)

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The new chief justice was also the author of the progressive Deduro v. Vinoya ruling in 2024 that finally defined red-tagging as an act that threatens a person’s right to life, liberty, and security.

Though it was far from justice, activists said the ruling gave them a fighting chance against state attacks because the High Court acknowledged red-tagging as a likely “precursor to abduction or extrajudicial killing,” and being associated communists makes a person a “target of vigilantes, paramilitary groups, or even state agents.”

During his Judicial and Bar Council interviews, Zalameda said his top priorities as chief justice would be building more courthouses to address delays in solving cases, invest in more technology, and improve the benefits of judiciary employees.

“The judiciary must also confront delays that continue to burden litigants. I recognize that not all cases require the same amount of time and effort. We must consider their nature and complexity, the number of parties and witnesses, the volume of evidence, the length of proceedings, and the issues that must be resolved,” said Zalameda.

As then aspiring chief justice, Zalameda said he strongly believes in separation of powers among the branches of the government. He said that he is a follower of the Constitution and of his conscience.

He also said that he will lead with collegiality and respect his fellow members of the bench.

“Collegiality does not mean the absence of disagreement. It means we can disagree without becoming disagreeable, and remain, after the debate and the vote, members of one Court serving one Constitution. This is the kind of collegiality I hope to strengthen — one built on mutual respect, professional trust, and a shared commitment to the institution,” said Zalameda.

Collegiality within the High Court is an important virtue after years of turbulence brought by the ouster of two chief justices: Renato Corona and Maria Lourdes Sereno.

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Zalameda, who hails from Caloocan City, was born on August 2, 1963.

After passing the Bar Examinations in 1988, he worked as a branch clerk in Makati City Regional Trial Court. He, after this, ventured into private practice from 1990 to 1995.

In 1995, Zalameda became a public prosecutor. Seven years later, in 2002, he became Mandaluyong’s City Prosecutor.

Before his SC appointment, he worked for 11 years as an associate justice of the Court of Appeals where he chaired the 17th Division. Then-president Rodrigo Duterte appointed him to the High Court on August 6, 2019.

Zalameda, like Gesmundo, earned his law degree from Ateneo de Manila University and was also a member of the Fraternal Order of Utopia. He was an academic scholar and dean’s lister, and served as associate editor of the Ateneo Law Journal and senior staff member of the Ateneo Law Bulletin.

Voting history

Here is Zalameda’s voting history on some of the biggest cases brought before the SC:

– Rappler.com