MANILA— Retired Supreme Court associate justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla died on Friday at the age of 63, the Supreme Court said.

"The Judiciary mourns the passing on 27 Aug 2021 of its 188th Associate Justice, Hon. Priscilla J. Baltazar-Padilla," the Supreme Court said in a statement.

The high court did not disclose the cause of death.

After being appointed in July 2020, her early retirement due to “physical disability" was approved by the SC en banc just three months later.

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TWO DECADES IN JUDICIARY

Baltazar-Padilla graduated magna cum laude from the Lyceum College of Law and placed 5th in the 1984 Bar Exams.

In 1996, she joined the judiciary as presiding judge of the Metropolitan Trial Court of Manila Branch 29. She later became presiding judge of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 38.

She was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2006. She served as Chairperson of the CA’s Eleventh Division until her appointment to the SC.

LEGAL EDUCATOR

She taught in various universities including the the Lyceum of the Philippines, New Era University, Universidad de Manila, and University of the East for more than 17 years.

She was also a lecturer of Mandatory Continuing Legal Education and member of the faculty of the Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA).

The late magistrate also served as Bar reviewer from 2005 to 2017 and as Civil Law examiner in the 2019 Bar Examinations.

— report from James Amante, ABS-CBN News