Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo confirmed that De Castro’s appointment took effect on Dec. 1, 2007 and received by the SC yesterday morning.

Justice De Castro replaced Justice Cancio C. Garcia who retired last Oct. 20 upon reaching the mandatory age of 70. Her appointment filled up the last post in the 15-member SC.

The new SC justice and newly appointed Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Conrado M. Vasquez Jr. will take their oaths of office at 9:30 this morning before Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno.

Justice De Castro has been in government service for 34 years with 24 years at the Department of Justice (DoJ) and 10 years in the judiciary.

She was appointed associate justice of the Sandiganbayan in 1997 and took over the post of presiding justice in 2005.

She finished her law course at the University of the Philippines in 1972. She was vice-chancellor of the College of Law’s honor society and the Order of the Purple Feather from 1969 to 1972 and staff member of the Philippine Law Journal.

After passing the Bar examinations in 1973, Justice De Castro joined the SC and served as member of the technical staff of the late Chief Justice Fred Ruiz Castro until 1978.

Later, she transferred to the DoJ and became the department’s chief state counsel until her appointment to the Sandiganbayan in 1997.

At the DoJ, Justice De Castro was a member of the 1988 government panel that reviewed the military bases’ agreement with the United States, as well as legal adviser to the 1997 peace talks with the National Democratic Front and the Moro National Liberation Front.

In 1998 she was awarded by then President Fidel V. Ramos with a Presidential Medal of Merit "for Exceptionally Meritorious and Valuable Service Rendered and Remarkable Accomplishments that have served the interest of peace, unity, and progress in Southern Philippines, earning her the gratitude and admiration of the Filipino nation and people."

Meanwhile, Sandiganbayan officials and employees welcomed yesterday the appointment of De Castro to the Supreme Court, calling it a well-deserved and long overdue promotion.

Led by Sandiganbayan Executive Clerk of Court IV Atty. Renato T. Bocar, the anti-graft court community said De Castro would have been appointed to the SC earlier if not only because of the plunder case of former President Joseph Estrada.

De Castro was head of the three-member Special Division of the Sandiganbayan, which last September convicted Estrada of plunder following a sixyear trial on charges that he amassed ill-gotten wealth during his presidency.

She was also chairwoman of the First Division that awarded the 27 percent of the San Miguel Corp. (SMC) shares under the name of the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) to government in trust for all coconut farmers, and declared SMC chairman and CEO Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr. as the rightful owner of the remaining 20 percent of the disputed SMC shares.

Bocar noted that De Castro had been included at least thrice in the shortlist of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) before President Arroyo finally appointed her as new SC Associate Justice.

Earlier reports said De Castro had to turn down previous nominations to the post because of the Estrada plunder trial.

"Now that the plunder case against the former President had already been decided, I guess it’s about time that Justice De Castro get her well deserved promotion to the Supreme Court," Bocar said. (with a report by Edmer Panesa)