New SC Justice Zalameda takes oath

MANILA, Philippines — Supreme Court Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda on Tuesday took his oath before his new colleagues at the high court.

President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Zalameda, who was previously the chairperson of the Court of Appeals’ 17th Division, to take the seat vacated by retired Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo.

Zalameda took his oath before Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin at the SC En Banc Session Hall.

Magistrates from the SC and the appeals court are also present during the ceremony.

The new justice is expected to serve the SC until Aug. 2, 2033, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.

On Monday night, Zalameda and other new appointees to the Court of Appeals also took an oath before Duterte. In the video stream of the Presidential Communications Office, Zalameda was seen doing a fist bump, a gesture associated with Duterte.

Who is Zalameda?

According to the profile provided by the SC Public Information Office, Zalameda is a graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University in 1987. He is a member of the Fraternal Order of Utopia like Associate Justices Andres Reyes Jr. and Alexander Gesmundo.

He passed the bar examinations in 1988 and joined the judiciary as a clerk at the Makati City Regional Trial Court.

Zalameda engaged in private practice in 1990 but returned to government service as a prosecutor in 1995 at the Office of the City Prosecutor in Mandaluyong City.

He was appointed to the appeals court in 2008.