6 new IBP regional directors take oath

MANILA , Philippines   – Six of the new regional governors of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines took their oath yesterday before Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno at the SC Dignitaries Lounge.

SC spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez said there were supposedly several new IBP regional directors who have to take their oath but due to some issues, only six were able to make it in yesterday’s affair.

The new IBP Regional Governors are lawyers Ma. Milagros Fernan-Cayosa (Northern Luzon), Ferdinand Miclat (Central Luzon), Amador Tolentino, Jr. (Southern Luzon), Jose Cabrera (Bicolandia), Roland Inting (Eastern Visayas), and Roan Libarios (Eastern Mindanao).

This first batch of new IBP regional directors, Marquez said, were elected during the April 25 IBP elections.

Marquez, 43, also took oath before Puno after being promoted to deputy court administrator. A DCA has the rank and privileges of an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals.

Midas told reporters shortly after the brief ceremony that he is “thankful” to the Supreme Court, especially to Puno, for the “trust” and “confidence” in him. Although now a DCA, Marquez still holds his job as the court’s chief public information officer.

Marquez, formerly an assistant court administrator, succeeded Deputy Court Administrator Reuben de la Cruz who retired last July 13 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65. 

As DCA, Marquez now has active and direct administrative supervision over trial court judges and personnel in judicial regions.

The chief PIO is the youngest among the 18 aspirants for the coveted position. He received a majority of seven votes from the twelve High Court justices who participated in the secret balloting. 

Two other High Court officials got two votes each, while a private law practitioner garnered a single vote. 

Among those who applied for the position were executive judges of the Regional Trial Court, a chief state counsel of the Department of Justice, and several private law practitioners. 

Marquez is also the youngest deputy court administrator appointed by the High Court.

Marquez obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Economics degree in 1987 and Juris Doctor Degree in 1993, both from the Ateneo de Manila University. He started his career in the Supreme Court in 1991 as a law intern while completing his law studies.

He was then hired as a regular law clerk after completing the two-month summer internship requirement for his law degree. He slowly rose from the ranks until he became the High Court’s only second spokesperson and chief of its Public Information Office in 2007.

He also serves as a law professor in a law school in Makati City, and has written several law books, among them The Constitutional Philosophy of Philippine Jurisprudence: The Writings of (then) Senior Associate Justice Reynato S. Puno (2005); Omnibus Election Code (2007); and Fundamentals of Nursing Law, Jurisprudence, and Ethics (2008). – Liv G. Campo/LPM      (THE FREEMAN)