Who is Gamaliel Cordoba, the new SC associate justice?

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Gamaliel Asis Cordoba has been named the new Supreme Court (SC) associate justice on Friday, November 13, 2026.

He will succeed SC Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier, who will retire on November 16, 2026.

Cordoba currently serves as the chairperson of the Commission on Audit (COA), having been appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on October 21, 2022.

Prior to his appointment at COA, Cordoba served the longest term as commissioner of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), serving across the administrations of Marcos and former Presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Benigno Aquino III, and Rodrigo Duterte.

“His 13-year stint with the NTC witnessed landmark projects resulting in the country’s marked improvement in Internet speeds through the streamlining of permits for the construction of telecommunication towers and fiber optic installations,” Cordoba’s profile read on the COA website.

“The country’s fixed broadband and mobile internet speeds remarkably improved globally under his leadership with Ookla Speedtest Global Index now ranking the Philippines 41st out of 180 countries globally for fixed broadband and 79th out of 140 countries for mobile,” it added.

From 2008 to 2009, Cordoba also served on the Board of Directors of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).

He also held several key positions under the Arroyo administration at the Office of the President, serving as Appointments Secretary from 2006 to 2007, Undersecretary from 2003 to 2006, and Assistant Executive Secretary from 2002 to 2003.

Prior to those posts, he served as a Director at the Office of the Presidential Chief of Staff from 2001 to 2002.

“Chairperson Cordoba served in Ex Oficio capacity representing the Office of the President as Director of the Philippine National Railways; Director of the Maritime Industry Authority; Member of the Presidential Committee on Good Governance and Execom Member of the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center,” his profile read.

In 2010, Cordoba was awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit by Arroyo and received the Radio Award from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan.

Cordoba earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University, where he also completed his Juris Doctor in 1996 before passing the Philippine Bar Examination in 1997. — RSJ, GMA News