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Presidential Legal Adviser Salvador Panelo, on the other hand, disclosed that Associate Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo is the personal choice of President Duterte to be the next chief justice of the Supreme Court.
“As a matter of SOP (standard operating procedure), judicial appointments are confirmed by my office only after they have been received by the Supreme Court. Given the long holiday, the earliest a judicial Appointment can be received by the Court would be this Monday. FYI,” Roque said in a statement Friday, April 2.
The vacancy in the Supreme Court’s top post came after the retirement of Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta on March 22, a position he held for almost one year and five months.