MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte has named Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Michael Ong as an associate justice of the Court of Appeals.

Ong took his oath as CA justice on Thursday, January 27, the Supreme Court’s Public Information Office announced.

The SC PIO also tweeted a photo of the document informing the Supreme Court of Ong’s appointment, which was dated May 20, 2021 and signed by Ong’s former boss, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

Ong is taking the CA slot vacated by Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan, according to the letter. Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo administered Ong’s oath at around 10 am on Thursday.

Ong served as Senior Deputy Executive Secretary, or Medialdea’s right-hand man, since August 2018. He had taken the place of Menardo Guevarra, who vacated the post when Duterte appointed him as justice secretary. Before Ong became SDES, he was deputy executive secretary for general administration.

Ong started his career in Malacañang even before the Duterte administration. From 2010 to 2012, during the administration of Benigno Aquino III, he was an assistant secretary at the Office of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel. He has also served under the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs.

Barely a week before Ong’s oath-taking, another Malacañang official took her oath as CA associate justice – Jennifer Ong, a former undersecretary at the Office of the President and an aide to Senator Bong Go back when he was special assistant to the president. – Rappler.com