Alexander Gahon Gesmundo (born November 6, 1956) is serving as the

chief justice of the Philippines The chief justice of the Philippines ( fil, Punong Mahistrado ng Pilipinas) presides over the Supreme Court of the Philippines and is the highest judicial officer of the government of the Philippines. As of April 5, 2021, the position is curr ...

since April 5, 2021. He replaced

Diosdado Peralta Diosdado "Dado" Madarang Peralta (born March 27, 1952) is a Filipino attorney and jurist who served as the chief justice of the Philippines from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines f ...

, who retired early on March 27, 2021. He previously served as an

associate justice of the Supreme Court An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is any member of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1 ...

from 2017 to 2021.

Biography

Gesmundo is the fourth chief justice appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Rodrigo Duterte and the third Atenean to assume the post of the high tribunal. Gesmundo is a member of the Philippine Independent Church. He studied Bachelor of Science in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

at the Lyceum of the Philippines University while he obtained his law degree from the

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic ( Jesuits) , academic ...

in 1984 and passed the Philippine Bar in April 1985. He started working as a trial attorney at the

Office of the Solicitor General The Office of the Solicitor General of the Philippines ( fil, Tanggapan ng Taga-usig Panlahat), formerly known as the Bureau of Justice, is an independent and autonomous office attached to the Department of Justice. The OSG is headed by Menardo G ...

(OSG) in 1985 and was awarded the Most Outstanding Solicitor three years later. He was on seconded appointment as commissioner of the Presidential Commission on Good Government from July 17, 1998 to February 15, 2001. In August 2002, he was promoted to assistant solicitor general. He continued to serve in the OSG until October 2005. After 20 years with the OSG, he was then appointed as an associate justice of the

Sandiganbayan The Sandiganbayan ( en, Support of the Nation) is a special appellate collegial court in the Philippines that has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving graft and corrupt practices and other offenses committed by public office ...

on October 15, 2005, later as chairperson of its seventh division and co-chairperson of the Committee on Rules. On August 14, 2017, Gesmundo became the 178th Supreme Court magistrate, assuming the post vacated by Justice Jose C. Mendoza who reached mandatory retirement age. As chief justice, he will mandatorily retire on November 6, 2026.

References

1956 births Living people Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Justices of the Sandiganbayan Ateneo de Manila University alumni Chief justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Members of the Philippine Independent Church {{Philippines-politician-stub