Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla

Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla[1] (born Priscilla Joson Baltazar; July 2, 1958) is the 188th Supreme Court Associate Justice of the Philippines. She was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to replace Associate Justice Andres Reyes Jr.

The Honourable Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla
188th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
In office July 16, 2020 – November 3, 2020
Appointed by	Rodrigo Duterte
Preceded by	Andres Reyes Jr.
Succeeded by	Jhosep Lopez
Personal details
Born	Priscilla Joson Baltazar July 2, 1958 Manila, Philippines
Spouse(s)	Atty. Venancio Padilla
Parents	Adolfo Baltazar Lourdes Joson

Education

Baltazar-Padilla graduated magna cum laude and at the top of her class in both her Political Science and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the Lyceum of the Philippines University.

While enrolled in the College of Law, she was hired to teach Political Science subjects by her alma mater in 1979. She was tapped to teach in the College of Law after passing the 1984 Bar Examinations where she obtained a weighted average of 90.3%, placing 5th among the successful examinees.[2]

Legal and judicial career

Legal career

Puno and Associates Law Offices invited her to be part of its pool of lawyers. In 1991, she and her husband decided to establish the Padilla, Baltazar-Padilla and Associates Law Firm.

While engaged in the practice of law, she continued teaching in the College of Law of the Lyceum and later at the College of Law of the New Era University. She concentrated on Civil Law and Remedial Law subjects. She was a Bar reviewer in Civil and Remedial Law. She was previously connected with Cosmopolitan Review Center which accorded her the opportunity to teach in different parts of the country from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao and help prepare aspiring lawyers from various schools in these parts of the country for the Bar examinations. She is also a professional lecturer of the Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA), the Supreme Court’s academic arm which sponsors seminars/workshops and conventions for judges.

Trial Court Judge

She joined the Judiciary in 1996 as Presiding Judge of Branch 29 of the Metropolitan Trial Court of Manila. She was promoted to Presiding Judge of the Regional Trial Court of Manila, Branch 38 thereof in 2000.

Justice of Court of Appeals

On May 31, 2006, she was one of the two Judges who were appointed as Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the other was Judge Mario Lopez who would also be Appointed in the high Tribunal in 2019 by President Rodrigo Duterte

Justice Baltazar-Padilla was initially stationed in Cebu until her transfer to Manila. She held the position for 14 years until her appointment of the Supreme Court in 2020.[3]

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court

On July 16, 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Baltazar-Padilla to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.[4] Padilla fills the post vacated by Supreme Court Associate Justice Andres Reyes Jr. who retired in May.[5] She was chosen out of six other potential candidates, Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez, CA Associate Justice Ricardo Rosario, Japar Dimaampao, Jhosep Lopez, Ramon Cruz and Manuel Barrios.[6]

Early Retirement

On the last week of October, Justice Baltazar-Padilla applied for an early retirement and on November 3, 2020 the High Tribunal's En banc session her fellow justices approved her request for early retirement.[7][8][9]

References

1. "Justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla". Supreme Court of the Philippines. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
2. scph. "Justice Priscilla J. Baltazar-Padilla | Supreme Court of the Philippines". sc.judiciary.gov.ph. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
3. "Duterte appoints CA justice Padilla to Supreme Court of the Philippines". CNN Philippines. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
4. "On the appointment of Justice Priscilla J. Baltazar-Padilla". Office of the Presidential Spokesman. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
5. Aguilar, Krissy (2020-07-16). "CA justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla named SC associate justice". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
6. "Duterte appoints Baltazar-Padilla SC associate justice". Manila Standard. 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
7. Torres-Tupas, Tetch (November 3, 2020). "Appointed only in July, SC Associate Justice Baltazar-Padilla retires". Inquirer.net. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
8. Navalio, Mike (November 3, 2020). "SC accepts early retirement of magistrate Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla over health issues". ABS CBN News. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
9. Patag, Kristine Joy (November 3, 2020). "SC Justice Baltazar-Padilla retires at 62". Philippine Star.