CA Justice Singh completes 15-member Supreme Court bench
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Court of Appeals Associate Justice Maria Filomena Singh to complete the 15-member Bench of the Supreme Court.
The SC Public Information Office confirmed the appointment of Singh as the 194th associate justice of the Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon.
Singh takes over the vacancy after the retirement of Senior Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe on May 14.
During her interview with the Judicial Bar and Council on April 6, Singh said she is 55 years old which leaves her more than a decade of service to the Judiciary.
According to the CA website, Singh sits as the senior member of the CA’s Second Division. In 2018, she was one of the two justices who dissented in the ruling that ordered the release of former Palawan Governor Joel Reyes, accused of murder of broadcaster Gerry Ortega.
The murder charge was eventually reinstated in 2019.
She was also recently part of the Committee on the Revision of the Rules on Summary Procedure and Small Claims Cases.
During her JBC interview, she was asked what measures she will recommend to monitor the performance of judges nationwide.
Singh, who has served as regional trial court judge prior to becoming a CA justice, recalled that they have file monthly reports to the Office of the Court Administrator.
She said that the data has not been analyzed and are largely unused. This may be reviewed to determine trends, spike in cases, which will allow them to determine which courts should be given issuances to speed up trial.
With her designation, President Rodrigo Duterte has 13 appointees in the SC except Associate Justices Marvic Leonen and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.
The SC is currently on a writing break, but this week alone, two groups of petitioners have filed their respective petitions challenging the candidacy of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., presumptive president-elect.
Another high-profile case pending before the SC is the petition questioning the constitutionality of Duterte’s drug war.
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