DAVAO CITY —President Rodrigo Duterte administered the oath of office Thursday to newly appointed Supreme Court Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta in a ceremony in Malacañang.
Peralta’s appointment was announced by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea on Wednesday, the same day President Duterte signed his appointment letter. He will serve until his retirement on March 27, 2022.
Born in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, the new chief justice is the son of Judge Elviro Lazo Peralta and public school teacher Catalina Madarang Peralta.
Chief Justice Peralta started his career in government service in 1987 when he was appointed third assistant city fiscal of Laoag City. In 1988, he was assigned to the prosecutor’s office in the City of Manila.
In September 1994, Chief Justice Peralta was appointed presiding judge of Branch 95 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City, which was designated as a special criminal court on heinous crimes and, later, drugs cases.
He was promoted to the Sandiganbayan in 2002, and became its presiding justice in 2008. On January 13, 2009, he was named the 162nd associate justice of the Supreme Court.
Prior to becoming a member of the Supreme Court, he was a professor, lecturer, resource person, and Bar reviewer in criminal law, criminal procedure, remedial law, and trial techniques in different law schools in the country.
Chief Justice Peralta is married to Court of Appeals Associate Justice Fernanda C. Lampas-Peralta, a certified public accountant-lawyer. The couple has four children: Dorothy, John Christopher, Timothy John, and John Isaac
