Graduating at the top of his elementary and high school classes, he went on to obtain an Associate in Arts degree at the Lyceum of the Philippines, then a law degree at San Beda College. After graduating from the law school and passing the bar, he went into public service, starting as a lawyer at the Commission on Elections.

A year later, Justice Labitoria went into private practice. However, the call to adjudicate public disputes was heeded anew in 1971 when he was appointed as Municipal Judge in his home province of Nueva Vizcaya, for the town of Bambang. In 1983, he was appointed Regional Trial Court Judge in Cobarroguis, Quirino. The following year, he was moved to Santiago, Isabela, to serve as Executive Judge and handle Branch 21 of the Regional Trial Court of the capital town of the province.

From Isabela, he became presiding judge of Branches 11 and 14 of the Regional Trial Court of Malolos, Bulacan, then presiding judge of Branch 55 of the Regional Trial Court in Macabebe, Pampanga. He moved to Morong, Rizal, with basically the same duties, then became presiding and second executive judge of the Regional Trial Court of Pasay City. On March 22, 1994, he was appointed a Justice of the Court of Appeals and subsequently headed the 6th Division of the Appellate Court.

Beyond serving as a magistrate, Justice Labitoria had also taught in the Far Eastern University and remains an active member of the Masonic Fraternity and the Lions Club.

We wish Court of Appeals Justice Eugenio S. Labitoria good health and more productive years in his retirement.