Retired Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, the latest prosecution witness in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, had over four decades of government service before she stepped down as head of the anti-graft court.
Cabotaje-Tang spent three decades in the Office of the Solicitor General, where she rose to Assistant Solicitor General, serving as counsel for government offices.
In fact, she and House prosecutor Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno, a human rights lawyer, faced off in writ of amparo cases before the Court of Appeals.
Members of the military and the police were the usual respondents in many of the amparo cases filed by activists seeking court protection.
Cabotaje-Tang joined the Sandiganbayan in 2012 and was promoted to Presiding Justice the following year, serving in the position until her retirement in November 2024.
She teaches law at the San Beda University and the University of Santo Tomas.
She also served as an examiner in the 2015 and 2025 Bar examinations.
She received the Outstanding Alumna Award (2014) and Outstanding Woman in Service Award (2015) from San Beda College of Law. She was also a Natatanging Cagayano (2017) awardee and an Ulirang Ina Awardee for Law and Judiciary (2018).
During her retirement ceremony, Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo paid tribute to Cabotaje-Tang as “a shining example of what it means to serve with integrity, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.”
At Duterte’s impeachment trial on Monday, Cabotaje-Tang testified about the laws concerning public accountability and on the filing of statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth by government personnel.
The defense had objected to the prosecution’s move to present her testimony, calling her a “surprise” witness not listed in the pre-trial brief and saying this violated fair play.
It also said she was poised to make conclusions of law.
The prosecution said her testimony would provide the court with the framework for understanding and evaluating its financial and documentary evidence.