Rodolfo "Rudy" Dia Robles (born July 1, 1943) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

lawyer and diplomat who was the Ambassador of the Philippines to Canada from 2020 to 2022 He was 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 ful ...

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

on February 21, 2020 and was confirmed by the

Commission on Appointments The Commission on Appointments ( fil, Komisyon sa Paghirang, abbreviated as CA) is a constitutional body which confirms or rejects certain political appointments made by the President of the Philippines. The current commission was created by th ...

on March 11. He was previously nominated to be the

Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations ( fil, Sugo at Palagiang Kinatawan ng Pilipinas sa mga Nagkakaisang Bansa) is the head of the diplomatic mission of the government of the Philippines to the United ...

and was a member of Duterte's Consultative Committee to review the 1987

Constitution of the Philippines The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'', Spanish: ''Constitución de la República de Filipinas'') is the constitution or the supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines ...

Early life and education

Robles was born on July 1, 1943 to former

Quezon Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon ( tl, Lalawigan ng Quezon), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon Regions of the Philippines, region on Luzon. Kalilayan was the first known name of th ...

Governor Claro Robles, Sr. and Amparo Dia. He studied law at

San Beda University es, Universidad de San Beda , image = San Beda University seal.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = University Seal , latin_name = Universitas Sancti Bedæ , former_names ...

and graduated in 1967. He then placed first in the bar examinations conducted that year. He also holds a master's degree in law from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Career

Robles served as a delegate to the

1971 Philippine Constitutional Convention The Philippine Constitutional Convention of 1971 was called to change the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines. The delegates were elected on November 10, 1970, and the convention itself was convened on June 1, 1971. It was marked by controversi ...

as a representative of the 1st district of Quezon. At 27, he was the third youngest member of the convention. He was chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Bodies which initially studied offices like the

Civil Service Commission A civil service commission is a government agency that is constituted by legislature to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, oversee hiring and promotions, and promote the values of the public service. Its role is rou ...

Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

, Commission on Audit, among others. He is the author of the Miranda doctrine and the Constitutional Rights of an Accused under custodial investigation. He earned the

moniker A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

"Father of Filipino Ombudsman or Tanodbayan" because he authored the law creating the

Office of the Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

during the term of

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

in 1978. In 1977, he was one of the founding deans of the

Arellano University School of Law The Arellano University School of Law (AUSL) is the law school of Arellano University. AUSL was established in 1938, making it one of the oldest law schools in the Philippines. The school is managed by the Arellano Law Foundation, a non-stock an ...

and as such, was the youngest law dean in the country at that time. He was also a Professor of Law at San Beda College. He practiced general law with the Robles, Brillante, Ricafrente and Aguirre law firm. Following the retirements of

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

associate justices

Alicia Austria-Martinez Maria Alicia Austria-Martinez (born Maria Alicia Austria; December 19, 1940) is a Filipino jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2002 to 2009. She was appointed to the Court by President Gloria Maca ...

and

Dante Tiñga Dante Osorio Tiñga (born May 11, 1939) is a Filipino politician and jurist. He served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2003 to 2009. Profile In 1960, Tiñga obtained his law degree at the University of th ...

in 2009, Robles was recommended to the

Judicial and Bar Council The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC; fil, Sangguniang Panghukuman at Pang-abogasya) of the Philippines is a constitutionally-created body that recommends appointees for vacancies that may arise in the composition of the Supreme Court, other lowe ...

by the Supreme Court as a candidate to fill-up one of the vacancies. He was previously disqualified in 2008 due to his age because the rules in force at that time required nominees not from the judiciary to be able to serve in the Supreme Court for at least five years before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. Robles would have only served for 4 years and 6 months as a justice which was below the minimum five years according to the rules. In 2009 though, the "five-year rule" was scrapped by the council thus Robles became eligible as a Supreme Court justice nominee. In the end, he was not appointed. In 2012, he was nominated for Chief Justice following the impeachment of

Renato Corona Renato Tereso Antonio Coronado Corona (October 15, 1948 – April 29, 2016) was a Filipino judge who was the 23rd chief justice of the Philippines from 2010 to 2012. He served as an associate justice after being appointed by President Gloria Ma ...

but he declined. On January 23, 2018, Robles was appointed by President Duterte as a member of the Consultative Committee tasked on reviewing the 1987

. He served until August 19. On July 1, 2019, Robles was nominated by Duterte to be the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations, a post vacant for almost a year due to the appointment of former Permanent Representative Teodoro Locsin Jr. as

Secretary of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. His nomination, though, was deferred by the Commission on Appointments after being grilled on several issues, including the country's

arbitral award An arbitration award (or arbitral award) is a determination on the merits by an arbitration tribunal in an arbitration, and is analogous to a judgment in a court of law. It is referred to as an 'award' even where all of the claimant's claims fail ...

over the

South China Sea dispute Territorial disputes in the South China Sea involve conflicting island and maritime claims in the region by several sovereign states, namely Brunei, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan (Republic of China/ROC), Indonesia, Malaysia, Ph ...

. Senator

Panfilo Lacson Panfilo "Ping" Morena Lacson Sr. (; born June 1, 1948) is a Filipino former politician and police general who served as a Senate of the Philippines, Senator for three terms: from 2001 to 2013 and from 2016 to 2022. He was the Chief of the Phil ...

later claimed that some of his answers "disappointed the members of the foreign affairs committee". On February 21, 2020, Robles was again nominated by Duterte to another diplomatic post, this time as the Ambassador to Canada. His nomination was approved and confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on March 11. He succeeded Ambassador Petronila Garcia who was appointed in 2014. He arrived in Canada on October 17, 2020 and presented his credentials to

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Julie Payette Julie Payette (; born October 20, 1963) is a Canadian engineer, scientist and former astronaut who served from 2017 to 2021 as Governor General of Canada, the 29th since Canadian Confederation. Payette holds engineering degrees from McGill ...

on November 30 in a virtual ceremony due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Personal life

He is married to Nora San Buenaventura. In 1974, he was also chosen as one of The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardees in law.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robles, Rodolfo 1943 births Living people 20th-century Filipino lawyers Ambassadors of the Philippines to Canada People from Quezon San Beda University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Deans of law schools in the Philippines 21st-century Filipino lawyers