Far Eastern University (FEU) alumnus and former Court of Appeals (CA) Justice Ricardo R. Rosario has been appointed as the newest Supreme Court justice by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

The decision of Duterte to appoint Rosario was confirmed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to reporters last October 16.

The Supreme Court’s Public Information Office (SC PIO) has narrated Rosario’s humble beginnings as he was a graduate from FEU under the program of Political Science.

He first became a messenger for the Employees’ Compensation Commission in 1976. He changed jobs and became a security guard for the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel for a few months in 1977.

Rosario was then promoted as a clerk. The statement included that he was inspired by his lawyer father, Eduardo Rosario, which made him take up law at the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law from 1979-1983.

In the current composition of the Court, Rosario is Duterte’s 11th appointee and the Chief Executive's 15th overall in his four-year presidency. 

He was working under CA for 15 years which includes his job as the chairperson of 9th Division. He then will replace Associate Justice Jose Reyes Jr., who retired last September 18.

It can be remembered during 2018, Rosario, who was a first-time applicant, nodded with the policies of Duterte’s administration, during his interview in Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).

The newly appointed justice took his oath of office last October 9 as the 189th Associate Justice of SC. His mandatory retirement will take place in 2028.

-Vonne P. Milanes
(Photo courtesy of Supreme Court Public Information Office)