Francis H. Jardeleza (born September 26, 1949) is a former Associate Justice of the

Supreme Court of the Philippines The Supreme Court ( fil, Kataas-taasang Hukuman; colloquially referred to as the ''Korte Suprema'' lso used in formal writing is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on J ...

. He served as

Solicitor General of the Philippines The Office of the Solicitor General of the Philippines ( fil, Tanggapan ng Taga-usig Panlahat), formerly known as the Bureau of Justice, is an independent and autonomous office attached to the Department of Justice. The OSG is headed by Menardo G ...

from 2012 to 2014, and was appointed by President

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. The son of ...

to the High Court on August 19, 2014.

Background

Jardeleza grew up in Jaro, Iloilo City, where he finished his elementary and secondary education. He earned his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in Political Science from the

University of the Philippines Visayas The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV or UP Visayas) is a public research university in the Philippines with campuses and facilities throughout the Visayas. A constituent university of the University of the Philippines system, it teaches ...

in 1970. He earned his law degree at the

University of the Philippines College of Law The University of the Philippines College of Law (often referred to as UP Law) is the law school of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Formally established in 1911 in UP Manila, it is the third oldest continually-operating law school ...

UP Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...

, where he graduated as salutatorian in 1974. As a student at UP Law, Jardeleza was Vice-Chairperson of the

Philippine Law Journal The ''Philippine Law Journal'' is an academic student-run law review affiliated with the UP College of Law at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Established in August 1914, the ''Journal'' marked its 100th anniversary in 2014 as the oldes ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1974, having placed third in the

bar examinations Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

held that year. In 1977, Jardeleza obtained a Masters of Law degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

Professional career

Jardeleza was in private practice until 1996, including a long-term stint at the ACCRA Law Offices. In 1996, he was named Senior Vice-President and General Legal Counsel of

San Miguel Corporation San Miguel Corporation, abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the Philippines. Originally founded ...

. He remained with San Miguel Corporation until 2010.

Government service

In July 2010, Jardeleza was appointed Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

. On February 6, 2012, Jardeleza's appointment as

was announced, following the resignation of Jose Anselmo Cadiz. He took his oath of office as Solicitor General on February 20, 2012. On 19 August 2014, President Aquino appointed Jardeleza as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, succeeding retired Justice Roberto Abad. On 26 September 2019, Jardeleza retired upon reaching his 70th birthday.

In academia

Jardeleza has been a professorial lecturer at the

since 1993, teaching

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...

among other subjects. His wife, Concepion Lim-Jardeleza is also a professor in said law school.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jardeleza, Francis 1949 births Living people Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Solicitors General of the Philippines 20th-century Filipino lawyers People from Iloilo City University of the Philippines Visayas alumni University of the Philippines Diliman alumni Harvard Law School alumni Benigno Aquino III administration personnel University of the Philippines faculty San Miguel Corporation people Visayan people 21st-century Filipino judges