Socorro Balinghasay Inting is a Filipino lawyer and jurist who served as a commissioner of the

Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

(COMELEC) from May 2018 to February 2, 2025. She was appointed 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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

to replace Arthur Lim. Before joining COMELEC, she was an Associate Justice of the

Court of Appeals of the Philippines The Court of Appeals (; previously ''Hukuman ng Paghahabol'') is an appellate collegiate court in the Philippines. The Court of Appeals consists of one presiding justice and sixty-eight associate justices. Pursuant to the Constitution, the Co ...

Early life and education

Socorro Inting was born in

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a City of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the List of Philippine cities and municipalities ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. She earned her Bachelor of Laws degree, graduating ''cum laude'' from

Ateneo de Davao University Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU; ) is a private Catholic basic and higher education institution in Davao City, Davao del Sur, Philippines. It is run by the Philippine Jesuit Province. Before the Jesuits took over administration of the schoo ...

in 1980.

Legal and judicial career

Inting started her legal career by practicing law in Davao City for three years. During this period, she was elected as the treasurer of the

Integrated Bar of the Philippines The Integrated Bar of the Philippines ( abbreviated as IBP) is the national organization of lawyers in the Philippines. It is the mandatory bar association for Filipino lawyers. History The IBP was established as an official organization for ...

(IBP), Davao del Sur Chapter. She started government service as a public attorney with the Public Attorney's Office (PAO), where she served for seven years. She then worked as a prosecutor for six years before being appointed as Presiding Judge of the Metropolitan Trial Court, Branch 26, in

Makati City Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...

. She later became the Presiding Judge of the

Regional Trial Court The regional trial courts (RTC; ) are the highest trial courts in the Philippines. In criminal matters, they have original jurisdiction. History It was formerly called as the Court of First Instance since the Spanish colonial period. It cont ...

, Branch 95, in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

, and subsequently of Branch 4 in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, where she served for a total of twelve years. In 2009, she was appointed as an Associate Justice of the

, a position she held until 2018.

Commission on Elections

In April 2018,

appointed Inting as Commissioner of the

(COMELEC). Her appointment was confirmed by the

Commission on Appointments The Commission on Appointments (, abbreviated as CA) is a constitutional body which confirms or rejects certain political appointments made by the President of the Philippines. The current commission was created by the 1987 Constitution. Whil ...

on May 30, 2018. During her tenure, she twice assumed the role of acting COMELEC chairperson. She first served in this capacity in February 2022 after the retirement of Chairman

Sheriff Abas Sheriff Manimbayan Abas (born May 5, 1979) is a Filipino lawyer who served as chairman of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) from 2017 to 2022, overseeing the 2018 barangay elections, the 2019 Bangsamoro autonomy plebiscite, and the 2019 gen ...

. She was later reappointed as acting chairperson in June 2022 when the commission on Appointments bypassed the ad interim appointment of Chairman

Saidamen Pangarungan Saidamen Balt Pangarungan (born September 23, 1950) is a Filipino businessman, lawyer and politician who previously served as the ''ad interim'' Chairman of the Commission on Elections (Philippines), Commission on Elections from March–June 20 ...

. On March 8, 2022, Inting announced the suspension of COMELEC's

fact-checking Fact-checking is the process of verifying the factual accuracy of questioned reporting and statements. Fact-checking can be conducted before or after the text or content is published or otherwise disseminated. Internal fact-checking is such che ...

partnership with

Rappler Rappler (portmanteau of the words "rap" and "ripples") is a Mass media in the Philippines, Filipino online news website based in Pasig, Metro Manila, the Philippines. It was founded by 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and convicted cyberlibelist ...

, citing legal challenges against the agreement. The partnership, which aimed to combat misinformation during the

2022 Philippine general elections The 2022 Philippine general election took place on May 9, 2022, for the executive and legislative branches of government at every levelnational, provincial, and localexcept for the barangay officials. At the top of the ballot is the election fo ...

, was questioned by

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

Jose Calida Jose Callangan Calida (born July 7, 1950) is a Filipino lawyer. He previously served as Undersecretary of Justice and executive director of Dangerous Drugs Board under the Arroyo administration, as Solicitor General under the Duterte adminis ...

, who filed a petition before the

Supreme Court of the Philippines The Supreme Court (; colloquially referred to as the ' (also used in formal writing), is the highest court in the Philippines. It was established by the Taft Commission on June 11, 1901, through the enactment of Act No. 136, which abolished th ...

, arguing that the deal was illegal. Inting stated that the suspension was necessary to assure the public of the commission's independence and impartiality and to prevent further controversy that could affect public trust in the electoral body. In April 2022, Inting resigned as chairperson of the COMELEC Committee on the Ban on Firearms and Security Concerns (CBFSC), following a resolution granting the COMELEC chairman the power to approve gun ban exemptions. She called the move an absurdity, arguing that it undermined the committee's authority and made its function redundant. Following her resignation, Commissioner

Aimee Ferolino-Ampoloquio Aimee Pecson Ferolino-Ampoloquio is a Filipino lawyer and election official serving as a Commissioner of the Commission on Elections (Philippines), Commission on Elections (COMELEC) since November 24, 2020. She was appointed by then-President of t ...

was appointed as the acting chair of the CBFSC. Inting retired as COMELEC Commissioner on February 2, 2025.

Personal life

Inting comes from a family of legal professionals. Her younger brother, Henri Jean Paul Inting, was appointed as an Associate Justice of the

in 2019. Her daughter, Niña Ma. Socorro Inting, works as a Public Attorney.

References

External links

Commission on Elections Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inting, Socorro B. Filipino civil servants Filipino women civil servants Filipino women lawyers Commissioners of the Commission on Elections (Philippines) Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Davao City 21st-century Filipino lawyers 21st-century women lawyers Ateneo de Davao University alumni