Three newly-appointed justices of the Court of Appeals yesterday took their oath of office before Chief Justice Reynato Puno to fill vacancies at the appellate court.
They are Associate Justices Agnes Carpio, Ramon Cruz and Edwin Sorongon.
Carpio, 61, served as judge in several Regional Trial Courts in the National Capital Region. She was a judge at the Pasig City Regional Trial Court, Branch 261, from 1999 until she was appointed to the CA.
Prior to her Pasig City assignment, Carpio served as judge of Manila City RTC, Branch 17, from 1998 to 1999. From 1994 to 1995, she served the Tagum City RTC, Branch 1, from 1994 to 1995. Carpio also served as prosecutor in Quezon City from 1986 to 1991.
Carpio started working at the City Court in Davao City in 1963, then rose to being a clerical aide, then cash clerk, and later on, as legal researcher/special counsel designate.
In 1976, she was appointed special counsel at the City Fiscal’s Office in Davao City. It was in the same office that she later on served as fiscal until 1986.
She finished her law degree at the University of Manila in 1973.
Cruz, 50, was an RTC judge from 1999 in Naga City, and later on in Quezon City up to the time he was named to the CA, the second highest court of the land.
Prior to his joining the Judiciary, he did private practice, specializing in counseling and litigation.
Cruz teaches remedial law subject at his alma mater, University of Nueva Caceres in Naga City, his hometown. He is also a lecturer in seminars sponsored by the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education. He finished Bachelor of Arts Political Science also at the UNC.
The 53-year-old Sorongon finished law at the University of San Agustin in 1979.
He was presiding judge of Mandaluyong City RTC, Branch 214 since 1997 up to the time he was named to the appellate court. He joined the government in 1986 as assistant provincial fiscal.
A native of La Paz, Iloilo, Sorongon has attended several seminars, conferences and workshops on different fields of law.
In 2007, he attended the International Criminal Law: A Course for Justices and Judges from the Philippines, the 39th Academy of America and International Law in 2002, and Economic Crimes Seminar at the Office of the Legal Attaché, Federal Bureau of Investigation and US Embassy-Manila in 2001, among others.
