New Supreme Court justice Rodil Zalameda takes oath

Erstwhile Court of Appeals justice Rodil Zalameda on Tuesday took his oath as the newest associate justice of the Supreme Court (SC).

Zalameda takes over the seat vacated by Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo, who retired last July 29. He is expected to serve on the Court for around 14 years, or until his retirement in August 2033.

The Supreme Court welcomes Associate Justice Rodil V. Zalameda (vice SC AJ Mariano del Castillo) as the newest member of the High Court. He takes his oath before Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin. Also present to witness this afternoon are members of the SC, CA, and his family. pic.twitter.com/eVMlvfemgw

— Supreme Court PIO (@SCPh_PIO) August 6, 2019

A law graduate of the Ateneo De Manila University and a member of the Fraternal Order of Utopia, Zalameda passed the Bar Examinations in 1988.

He then joined the judiciary as a Branch Clerk 1, and later as Clerk of Court V, at the Makati City Regional Trial Court, according to the SC Public Information Office.

Zalameda went into private practice from 1990 to 1995 and returned to government service as a prosecutor in Mandaluyong City. He was appointed city prosecutor in 2002.

The new SC justice was appointed as CA justice on Sept.11, 2008, and had been serving as chairperson of the appeals court's 17th Division when he was promoted to the High Court.

Zalameda was part of the pioneering batch of aspirants to an SC post that took a decision-writing exam as a requirement for the application.

Three more SC vacancies will be created by the retirements of Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin and Associate Justices Antonio Carpio and Francis Jardeleza later this year. — Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/RSJ, GMA News