MANILA – Court of Appeals (CA) Justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla has been appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte as the new Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (SC), Malacañang announced on Thursday night.
Baltazar-Padilla is set to fill in the seat vacated by former Associate Justice Andres Reyes, who retired on May 11, according to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.
Baltazar-Padilla, a first-time applicant, bested other nominees, namely, Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez and her fellow CA justices Ricardo Rosario, Japar Dimaampao, Jhosep Lopez, Ramon Cruz, and Manuel Barrios.
In the Judicial and Bar Council’s (JBC) first online public panel interview, Baltazar-Padilla said Congress cannot be compelled to grant a franchise to any entity “because franchise is a mere privilege” and “cannot be demanded as a matter of right.”
She added that a joint resolution by Congress is not the proper remedy in the case of shuttered broadcast network ABS-CBN Corp. because “what is required is a law and not a mere resolution.”
Baltazar-Padilla was the ninth appointee of President Duterte to the high court giving him a clear majority on pending crucial cases involving the administration./PN
