Loading ...Teresita Jose Leonardo-de Castro (born October 8, 1948) is an Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court. Prior to her appointment to the High Court by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, she had been the Presiding Justice of the Sandiganbayan.
De Castro’s parents are Fortunato R. Leonardo and Maxima J. Leonardo of Parañaque. Justice Teresita Jose Leonardo De Castro resides at Merville, Parañaque, Metro Manila. De Castro is married to businessman Eduardo A. De Castro. They have three children: Maria Cherell, Christine Genevive, and Edouard Anthony. Her half-brother, Eduardo L. Leonardo works as Executive Assistant VI, Sandiganbayan).
De Castro finished elementary (1960) and high school education (Valedictorian, 1964) at St. Paul College. De Castro earned her AB Political Science (cum laude, 1968) and Bachelor of Laws (1972) at the University of the Philippines (1979). She passed the Philippine Bar Examination of November, 1972 with bar rating of 80.9%.
She started her judicial career as a law clerk, legal and judicial assistant in the Supreme Court of the Philippines,(1973-1978). She was appointed DOJ State Counsel I, II (1978-1985), and promoted to senior state counsel (1985-1987), supervising state counsel, and chief of legal staff (1988-1989). Before her Sandiganbayan appointment, De Castro was the state counsel V and chief of legal staff, DOJ (1989-1995). De Castro is the incumbent Presiding Justice and Chairman, First Division, Sandiganbayan.
Other Information
- Name : Teresita Jose Leonardo-de Castro
- Birthday : October 8, 1948
- Birthplace : Manila
- Schools Attended :
- AB Political Science: University of the Philippines (cum laude, 1968)
- Bachelor of Laws: University of the Philippines (1972)
- Seminar on Loan Negotiation and Renegotiation, International Law Institute, Washington D.C. (August 9 to September 5, 1986)
- Program of Instruction for Lawyers, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts (June 11-21, 2004)
- Seminar Judging Across Borders: Canadian Judges and International Law, National Judicial Institute, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (April 6-9, 2005)
- Father : Fortunato R. Leonardo
- Mother : Maxima J. Leonardo
- Spouse : Eduardo de Castro
- Children : 3
- Maria Cherell
- Christine Genevive
- Edouard Anthony
Career Highlights
- Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court, Incumbent (December 3, 2007)
Notable Events
- The trial of Joseph Estrada (2007)
- Appointment to the Supreme Court (2007)
Other honors and qualifications
- Phi Kappa Phi International Honor Society
- Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in the Social Sciences
- Vice Chancellor and consistent Member, Order of the Purple Feather, UP College of Law Honor Society
- Executive Vice-President, Philippine Women Judges Association
- UP Sigma Alpha Sorority
- UP College of Law, Portia Sorority and UP Women Lawyers Circle (WILOCI)
- Awarded University and College Scholarships at UP Diliman, Q.C.
Norberto Gonzales
Julio Ledesma IV
Benigno Aquino III