MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday appointed a 19-member consultative body on charter change as his administration pushes the shift from unitary to federal form of government.

Top magistrates, lawyers, members of the academe, and former officials were tapped by the President to study proposals to change the 1987 Constitution.

Here are the members of the consultative body:

REYNATO PUNO

The 22nd Chief Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court, Puno will head the review committee on charter change.

The 77-year-old former magistrate was first appointed an associate justice of the high court in 1993 by former President Fidel Ramos and, in 2007, was tapped by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to head the Supreme Court.

Puno earned his law degree from the University of the Philippines and later on finished post-graduate studies at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas (Master of Comparative Laws), University of California, Berkeley (Master of Laws), and University of Illinois.

AQUILINO "NENE" PIMENTEL JR.

A veteran politician and leading federalism proponent, Pimentel served as president of the Senate from 2000 to 2001.

He was a voice of dissent against the late President Ferdinand Marcos, particularly during the 1971 Constitutional Convention.

Pimentel also served as mayor of Cagayan de Oro City and tried his luck at the vice presidency in 1992, with Jovito Salonga running for president.

The 84-year-old is the father of incumbent Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, who is also the president of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), the ruling political party.

FR. RANHILIO AQUINO

Aquino is the current dean of the San Beda College Graduate School of Law, the same college where President Duterte earned his law degree.

He was ordained a priest in 1982 and completed his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, major in International Law in 1993 at the Columbia Pacific University in California.

He joined the Philippine Judicial Academy of the Supreme Court in 1998 and has authored a number of books on philosophy and law.

ANTONIO EDUARDO NACHURA

A former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Nachura is a graduate of the San Beda College of Law, Duterte's alma mater, who went on to place 7th in the 1967 bar examinations.

Nachura's foray into government service began in 1998 when he was elected representative of the 2nd District of Samar in the House of Representatives.

In 2006, he was named Chief Presidential Legal Counsel by then President Gloria Arroyo and was appointed Solicitor General a month later.

Nachura served as magistrate of the Supreme Court from 2007 until his retirement in 2011.

BIENVENIDO REYES

A fraternity brother of President Duterte, Reyes is also a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

Like the President, Reyes took up law at the San Beda College of Law where he and former Supreme Court Justice Jose Mendoza established the law fraternity Lex Talionis Fraternitas.

He was appointed associate justice in the Court of Appeals in 2000 and was later appointed by former President Benigno Aquino III as a Supreme Court justice in 2011.

Reyes administered Duterte's oath as president of the Philippines during his inauguration in 2016.

JULIO CABRAL TEEHANKEE

Teehankee is a political scientist who served as dean of his alma mater, the De La Salle University (DLSU) College of Liberal Arts.

After finishing his bachelor's degree at DLSU, Teehankee earned his Masters in Political Science at the University of the Philippines and returned to the De La Salle for his doctorate degree in Development Studies.

Teehankee has published a number of papers on elections, politics and political dynasties in the Philippines.

EDMUND TAYAO

Tayao, a political scientist, is a professor at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Faculty of Arts and Letters and is the executive director of the Local Government Development Foundation.

He earned both his bachelor's degree and master's degree in Political Science at the UST and is the secretary-general of the Philippine Consortium on Good Local Governance.

VICTOR DE LA SERNA

A former mayor of Tagbilaran City, De La Serna was among President Duterte's law professors at San Beda College of Law.

The President previously mentioned De La Serna in his speeches, saying he had a rough time passing the latter's classes.

De La Serna, who is also an alumnus of San Beda, is the 1965 bar exams topnotcher.

He was also a delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention and was later on appointed OIC governor of Bohol following the 1986 EDSA revolution.

ANTONIO BIÑAS ARELLANO

Arellano is an appointee of President Duterte to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and was part of the government's negotiating panel with communist rebels.

He worked in the Department of Justice for 23 years, starting as a state prosecutor in 1991.

In 2011, Arellano was awarded by Davao City with the Datu Bago Award, the highest recognition the city gives to its constituents for his contributions to the area's development.

ARTHUR AGUILAR

Aguilar is a businessman who previously served as chairman of the National Renewable Energy Board.

Aguilar finished his degrees in Accounting and Political Science and Economics from DLSU.

He went on to earn his Masters in Business Management from the Asian Institute of Management and his Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University.

He is currently the director of Bronzeoak Phils, Inc and of the San Carlos Clean Energy.

He previously served as president of the Global Business Power Corporation and the National Transmission Corporation, which was later privatized into the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.

VIRGILIO CASTILLO BAUTISTA

Bautista served as president of the University of Baguio from 1992 to 2004.

An educator by profession, Bautista is also an active volunteer in Baguio City, organizing community activities from time to time.

RANDOLPH PARCASIO

Parcasio is the spokesperson of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founder Nur Misuari.

A lawyer by profession, Parcasio also chairs the MNLF peace implementing panel and was the chief negotiator for the faction during the peace negotiations with the government.

RODOLFO DIA ROBLES

Also a graduate of the San Beda College of Law, Robles was the 1967 bar topnotcher.

REUBEN CANOY

A lawyer by profession, Canoy is among the founders of Radio Mindanao Network, the largest radio network in the Philippines.

ROAN LIBARIOS

Libarios is a former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. He was vice-governor of Agusan del Norte from 1992 to 1995 and congressman of the province's 2nd district from 1998 to 2001. He was among the House prosecutors in the impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada.

SUSAN UBALDE-ORDINARIO

Ordinario is a lawyer and a federalism advocate who hails from Catanduanes.

She was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1999.

EDDIE MAPAG ALIH

Alih was the former chancellor of the Mindanao State University Tawi-Tawi.

LAURENCE WACNANG

Wacnang is a Filipino politician who hails from Kalinga.

He represented the province in Congress for a total of 3 terms, from 1998 to 2007.

ALI PANGALIAN BALINDONG

Balindong is a Lanao del Sur politician who ran for governor of the province in 2016.