New Court of Appeals, SC justices appointed

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Court of Appeals (CA) Justice Maria Filomena Singh as the new magistrate of the Supreme Court (SC).

Singh joined the 15-member roster of the SC following the retirement of Senior Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe.

She took oath as the 194th SC justice on Wednesday, May 18, before Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo.

Singh finished her degree of Bachelor of Arts in English at the University of the Philippines and later took up law and graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law.

She finished her master’s degree in law abroad. The new magistrate started her career with the judiciary in October 2022 as the presiding judge of the Metropolitan Trial Court of Quezon City.

Meanwhile, Duterte also appointed two new CA justices, namely, John Lee Zurbito and Eleuterio Larisma Bathan.

Zurbito and Bathan will succeed the post vacated by Associate Justice Japar Dimaampao, who was appointed to the SC, and Associate Justice Dorothy Montejo-Gonzaga, who resigned in November 2021.