Arroyo appointed Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Diosdado Peralta as associate justice of the 15-member high tribunal. Peralta, 56, will replace Associate Justice Ruben Reyes.
Malacañang quickly set aside suspicions that the appointment might be connected to the supposed plan to extend Ms Arroyo’s term by revising the 1987 Constitution. Critics fears that a high court dominated by Ms Arroyo’s appointees might favor petitions on Charter change.
Peralta is an alumnus and former professor of the University of Santo Tomas law school. He used to belong to the so-called “Guillotine Club,” a group of judges known for imposing the capital punishment.
