Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen is expected to serve as acting chief justice when Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo retires in November.
Bilyonaryo News Channel At The Forefront host Atty. Karen Jimeno said that there could be a period when the SC has no permanently appointed chief justice because the Constitution gives President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 90 days from the vacancy to appoint Gesmundo’s successor.
“There will be an acting Chief Justice, which is usually the Senior Associate Justice,” SC spokesperson Atty. Camille Sue Mae Ting told Atty. Jimeno.
“And in this case, that would be Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen?” Jimeno asked.
Ting said, “Yes.”
Gesmundo, the Court’s 27th chief justice, is set to retire on Nov. 6, 2026, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.
His retirement will trigger the constitutional process for choosing the next head of the judiciary.
Under the 1987 Constitution, the President appoints the chief justice from a list of at least three nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).
The President has 90 days from the vacancy to make the appointment.
The upcoming vacancy will not be the only change in the High Court this November.
Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier is also scheduled to retire on Nov. 16, 2026, creating another vacancy in the 15-member tribunal.
Gesmundo was appointed associate justice in 2017 and became chief justice in 2021.
During his tenure, Gesmundo pushed for the modernization of the judiciary, including the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations, which introduced reforms involving digital technology, electronic filing and streamlined court processes.#