PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has named former Court of Appeals (CA) Justice Mariflor Punzalan-Castillo as acting Ombudsman, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said on Monday.
Bersamin said the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) will start interviewing nominees for Ombudsman — vice Ombudsman Samuel Martires, whose seven-year term ended on July 27 — after the delivery of the fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President Marcos this afternoon.
Punzalan-Castillo, who was named special prosecutor at the Office of the Ombudsman in 2024, started her legal career as an investigator in the Office of the Tanodbayan in 1979, a position she held until 1985 when she was appointed as prosecutor in the same Office.
In 1989, she was promoted as Special Prosecution Officer III in the Office of the Special Prosecutor where she served for four years, then joined the Judiciary as Presiding Judge of the Metropolitan Trial Court of Quezon City from 1993 to 1999. She became the Presiding Judge of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City from 1999 to 2004.
In 2004, Punzalan-Castillo was appointed CA Associate Justice. She retired as Presiding Justice prior to her appointment as Special Prosecutor.
