Malacañang defends PNoy classmate's appointment to SC

Malacañang on Saturday defended President Benigno Aquino III's appointment of his classmate, Justice Secretary Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa as associate justice of the Supreme Court (SC).

 

Communications Undersecretary Manuel Quezon III said Caguioa is qualified for the position.

 

"Si Secretary Caguioa, well, of course he has over 20 years of litigation experience. So he’s a respected lawyer in his own right with two decades’ worth of practice under his belt," Quezon said.

 

The Palace spokesperson issued the statement when asked what are the qualifications of Caguioa that Aquino considered in appointing the justice secretary to the high court.

 

"I believe that his records speak for himself. He has always been a respected member of the legal profession," Quezon added.

 

Caguioa was Aquino's classmate in elementary and college at the Ateneo de Manila University.

 

 

Aquino selected Caguioa from a list of five nominees recommended by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).

 

The other candidates for associate justice shortlisted by the JBC were Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr., Associate Justices Jose Reyes Jr. and Justice Apolinario Bruselas, and former Commission on Audit Chair Maria Gracia Pulido-Tan.

 

Caguioa is Aquino's sixth SC appointee following Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Associate Justices Marvic Leonen, Bienvenido Reyes, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, and Francis Jardeleza. —ALG, GMA News