JIB chair Callejo passes away

MANILA, Philippines — Retired Associate Justice and Judicial Integrity Board (JIB) chairman Romeo Callejo Sr. passed away on Sept. 19. He was 86.

According to the Supreme Court (SC), Callejo’s remains lie in state at the Loyola Memorial Chapels along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

“We offer our condolences and prayers. Justice Callejo will always be remembered as one of the members of the court who, for close to four decades, tirelessly and selflessly devoted his life in the service of the judiciary,” Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo said.

Public viewing of Callejo’s remains will be held until noon of Sept. 23, the SC said.

A necrological service will also be held at 4 p.m. today at the Loyola Memorial Chapels.

Callejo, who served as the 152nd associate justice to be appointed to the SC, devoted 37 years of his life to government service, the high court said.

He served as judge of the Manila regional trial court from 1986. As RTC judge, he was awarded twice as Outstanding Judge of Manila in 1991 and 1994.

Callejo was appointed as the first JIB chairman in 2020.

In 1994, he was promoted to associate justice of the Court of Appeals. He was elevated as SC associate justice in 2002, a post he held until his retirement in 2007.