SC Honors 2012 Outstanding Judges, Clerk of Court

Supreme Court of the Philippines

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SC Honors 2012 Outstanding Judges, Clerk of Court

Posted: September 17, 2012; By Darylle Evie Mae C. Catabay, Anna Katrina M. Martinez, Bianca M. Padilla and Joachim Q. Corsiga

The Supreme Court, in coordination with the Society for Judicial Excellence, recently announced the winners of this year's Judicial Excellence Awards (JEA). The winners consisting of four outstanding judges and one clerk of court will be honored in an awarding ceremony to be held at 4:00 p.m. on September 24, 2012 at the Centennial Hall A of the Manila Hotel.

The 2012 awardeesin the Second-Level Courts category are Judge Maria Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 7, Manila as the Chief Justice Cayetano Arellano Awardee; Judge Geraldine C. Fiel-Macaraig of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 192, Marikina City as the Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos Awardee; Judge Gregorio V. Dela Peña of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 12, Zamboanga City as the Chief Justice Ramon Avanceña Awardee; and Judge Emily L. San Gaspar-Gito of the Metropolitan Trial Court, Branch 20, Manila as the Don Antonio P. Madrigal Awardee.

The lone Outstanding Branch Clerk of Court of the Second Level Courts is Atty. Maria Christine A. Imperial-Bernarte of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 24, Manila.
The final list of awardees was chosen by this year's Board of Judges chaired by Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio. The members include Justice Bernardo P. Pardo (Ret.), Justice Diosdado M. Peralta, Justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez (Ret.), PhilJA Chancellor Adolfo S. Azcuna, Atty. Maria Milagros Fernan-Cayosa of the Judicial and Bar Council, Atty. Roan I. Libarios of Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and Dean Ernesto P. Maceda, Jr. of the College of Law of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.

Hon. Maria Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta
Presiding Judge, Branch 7
Regional Trial Court, Manila 
Chief Justice Cayetano Arellano Award

In 1991, Judge Gomez-Estoesta joined the government service as a Solicitor in the Office of the Solicitor General. She worked there until she was appointed to the Judiciary in February 2002 as a Metropolitan Trial Court Judge in Manila. Four years later, she was appointed as Presiding Judge of Branch 7 of the Manila Regional Trial Court. In 2010, she was designated Acting Presiding Judge of the Manila RTC, Branch 17 until the vacancy for the position was filled up in 2012. Aside from being the Presiding Judge of Branch 7, she is also currently the Second Vice Executive Judge of the Manila RTC. 

Judge Gomez-Estoesta has received several awards during her ten years in the Judiciary. In 2005, the Society for Judicial Excellence named her as the Most Outstanding Judge for 1st Level Courts and awarded her the Best Decision in Criminal Cases. In 2012, Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim conferred on her the award of Outstanding RTC Judge of Manila.

A true leader, Judge Gomez-Estoesta is also the Public Relations Officer of the Manila RTC Judges Association and is an active member of the Philippine Judges Association and the Philippine Women Judges Association.  

Hon. Geraldine C. Fiel-Macaraig
Presiding Judge, Branch 192
Regional Trial Court, Marikina City
Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos Award

Judge Fiel-Macaraig graduated with a degree in Business Administration from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1983, where she also obtained her Law degree in 1987. Upon passing the Bar examinations in 1988, she joined the government service as Senior Bill Drafter at the House of Representatives. Later, she transferred to the Office of the Solicitor General as Associate Solicitor I and moved up the ranks. While serving as Senior Solicitor III, she was granted a merit for her outstanding performance.

In 2001, Judge Fiel-Macaraig was appointed to the Judiciary as Presiding Judge of the Branch 192 of the Marikina Regional Trial Court. From 2005-2007, she served as Vice Executive Judge of the station and was eventually chosen as Executive Judge for two terms, from 2007-2011.

In 2008, she was awarded a Plaque of Distinction for her excellence in the practice of law by the UP Women Lawyers Circle.

Hon. Gregorio V. Dela Peña III
Presiding Judge, Branch 12
Regional Trial Court, Zamboanga City
Chief Justice Ramon Avanceña Award

Born and raised in Isabela, Basilan, Judge Dela Peña III transferred to Cebu to pursue his college education at the University of Visayas and law studies at the University of San Carlos.

In August 2005, he was appointed as Presiding Judge of the Regional Trial Court Branch 12 of Zamboanga City. Currently, he serves as Acting Presiding Judge of the Regional Trial Court of Basilan Province.

Upon his appointment, Zamboanga City Regional Trial Court, Branch 12 had a total of 851 pending cases. As of January 2012, the court now only has 347 pending cases. This means that over a period of six years, Judge Dela Peña III was able to resolve 1,682 cases.

Judge Dela Peña III was one of the first RTC Judges who rendered convictions in case involving Anti-Trafficking Persons. One who lets his decisions speak for themselves, the Philippine Judicial Academy chose him to be a resource speaker and lecturer on the topic.

Hon. Emily L. San Gaspar-Gito
Presiding Judge, Branch 20
Metropolitan Trial Court, Manila
Don Antonio P. Madrigal Award

Judge San Gaspar-Gito has served the Judiciary even before being a Judge. She worked as Court Attorney IV at the office of Ret. Justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez, and as such was awarded as a Model Employee - Supervisory Level by the Supreme Court Program on Awards and Incentives for Service Excellence. She also served as Court Attorney VI at the office of Justice Teresita J. Leonardo-De Castro.

As the Presiding Judge of Branch 20 of the Metropolitan Trial Court of Manila, Judge San Gaspar-Gito performs strict and effective implementation of the one-day examination rule for witnesses, the marathon trial for aging cases, and pre-trial techniques. She utilizes technology by maintaining an indexing system to track the status of each case without having to look at its records, keeping a digital data bank of her cases for accessibility and easy monitoring, and requiring the translation of numerical information to graphical presentation to make data readily visible and understandable.           
Because of her efforts, Judge San Gaspar-Gito was hailed as the 2010 Most Outstanding Judge of Manila “for her unceasing devotion to duty and faithful discharge of her authority as dispenser of justice and for her untiring efforts in unclogging her court’s docket.”

Atty. Maria Christine A. Imperial-Bernarte
Branch Clerk of Court, Branch 24
Regional Trial Court, Naga City
Outstanding Branch Clerk of Court (Multi-Sala)

The job of a clerk of court entails regular reports, administrative and supervisory control over the personnel, and management of court dockets and property. Atty. Imperial-Bernarte has been performing these tasks for 20 years now as the Clerk of Court of Branch 24 of the Regional Trial Court of Naga City.

Atty. Imperial-Bernarte's leadership style is one which is relaxed and encourages open feedback from her co-workers. This is because she believes that the brilliance of a judge and the efficiency of a clerk of court can only be enhanced by a supportive staff.

While performing her duties as Branch Clerk of Court of Branch 24 of the Naga RTC, she also served as Officer-in-Charge of the Office of the Clerk of Court of the said RTC in the absence of a duly-appointed Clerk of Court during the six-year term of Judge Corazon A. Tordilla as the Executive Judge. This job entailed her assistance in the administrative supervision of the 12 branches of the RTC. For six months, she was also designated as Acting Clerk of Court of Branch 20 of the same. She performed all these duties simultaneously and faithfully.

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