Rodolfo Robles (lawyer)

Rodolfo "Rudy" Dia Robles (born July 1, 1943)[1] is a Filipino lawyer and diplomat who is the current Ambassador of the Philippines to Canada. He was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte on February 21, 2020 and was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on March 11.[2][3] He was previously nominated to be the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations and was a member of Duterte's Consultative Committee to review the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines.[4][5]

Early life and education

Robles was born on July 1, 1943 to former Quezon Governor Claro Robles, Sr. and Amparo Dia.[6]

He studied law at San Beda University and graduated in 1967. He then placed first in the bar examinations conducted that year.[7] He also holds a master's degree in law from Harvard University.[8][9]

Career

Robles served as a delegate to the 1971 Philippine Constitutional Convention as a representative of the 1st district of Quezon. At 27, he was the third youngest member of the convention.[8] He was chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Bodies which initially studied offices like the Civil Service Commission, Commission on Elections, Commission on Audit, among others.[5]

He is the author of the Miranda doctrine and the Constitutional Rights of an Accused under custodial investigation. He earned the moniker "Father of Filipino Ombudsman or Tanodbayan" because he authored the law creating the Office of the Ombudsman during the term of Ferdinand Marcos in 1978.[8][7]

In 1977, he was one of the founding deans of the Arellano University School of Law and as such, was the youngest law dean in the country at that time.[8][5] He was also a Professor of Law at San Beda College.[9] He practiced general law with the Robles, Brillante, Ricafrente and Aguirre law firm.[8]

Following the retirements of Supreme Court associate justices Alicia Austria-Martinez and Dante Tiñga in 2009, Robles was recommended to the Judicial and Bar Council by the Supreme Court as a candidate to fill-up one of the vacancies. He was previously disqualified in 2008 due to his age because the rules in force at that time required nominees not from the judiciary to be able to serve in the Supreme Court for at least five years before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. Robles would have only served for 4 years and 6 months as a justice which was below the minimum five years according to the rules. In 2009 though, the "five-year rule" was scrapped by the council thus Robles became eligible as a Supreme Court justice nominee. In the end, he was not appointed.[1][8]

In 2012, he was nominated for Chief Justice following the impeachment of Renato Corona but he declined.[10]

On January 23, 2018, Robles was appointed by President Duterte as a member of the Consultative Committee tasked on reviewing the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines.[11] He served until August 19.[12]

On July 1, 2019, Robles was nominated by Duterte to be the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations, a post vacant for almost a year due to the appointment of former Permanent Representative Teodoro Locsin Jr. as Secretary of Foreign Affairs.[4] His nomination, though, was deferred by the Commission on Appointments after being grilled on several issues, including the country's arbitral award over the South China Sea dispute.[2] Senator Panfilo Lacson later claimed that some of his answers "disappointed the members of the foreign affairs committee".[13]

On February 21, 2020, Robles was again nominated by Duterte to another diplomatic post, this time as the Ambassador to Canada.[2] His nomination was approved and confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on March 11.[3] He is to succeed Ambassador Petronila Garcia who was appointed in 2014.[14] He arrived in Canada on October 17, 2020 and presented his credentials to Governor General Julie Payette on November 30 in a virtual ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15][16]

Personal life

He is married to Nora San Buenaventura.[17]

In 1974, he was also chosen as one of The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardees in law.[5]

References
  1. Frialde, Mike (December 10, 2008). "Robles appeals JBC disqualification". Philippine Star. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  2. Gita-Carlos, Ruth Abbey (February 28, 2020). "PACC chair Dante Jimenez named ICAD co-chair". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  3. Ager, Maila (March 11, 2020). "CA panel OKs appointments of 2 envoys, 10 DFA execs". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  4. Ranada, Pia (July 2, 2019). "Con-Com member Rodolfo Robles named Philippines' U.N. envoy". Rappler. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  5. Parrocha, Azer (March 17, 2018). "Justices, ex-legislators, lawyers, academics comprise Duterte's ConCom". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  6. "[A.C. No. 8671 : March 16, 2011] CHARITO D. ROBLES AND AMPARO D. ROBLES. V. ATTY. RODOLFO D. ROBLES". clubjuris.com. March 16, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  7. Lacson, Panfilo (March 11, 2020). "Sponsorship Speech at the Commission on Appointments". Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  8. Punay, Edu (June 5, 2009). "Lawyer-businessman gets shot at Supreme Court seat". Philippine Star. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  9. "Philippine Ambassador-Designate to Canada Arrives in Ottawa". Embassy of the Philippines Ottawa, Canada. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  10. Torres, Tetch (June 22, 2012). "Del Castillo, Rene Saguisag decline CJ nominations". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  11. Ranada, Pia (January 25, 2018). "Duterte appoints 19 members of Charter Change consultative committee". Rappler. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  12. Ranada, Pia (August 17, 2018). "Con-Com hopes Duterte won't quit before transition to federal government". Rappler. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  13. Galvez, Daphne (September 25, 2019). "CA defers confirmation of PH envoy to UN". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  14. "Meet new Philippine ambassador to Canada". Philippine Canadian Inquirer. September 2, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  15. "Welcome to the Honorable, Ambassador Rodolfo D. Robles, Philippine Ambassador to Canada and his wife, Mrs. Nora Robles". Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, Canada. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  16. "GOVERNOR GENERAL RECEIVES CREDENTIALS OF PHILIPPINE AMBASSADOR". Embassy of the Philippines, Ottawa, Canada. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  17. Litton, Johnny (August 21, 2003). "Robles-Ligon Nuptials". Philippine Star. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
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