PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has picked Dorothy Montejo-Gonzaga as the new associate justice of the Court of Appeals (CA), based on an appointment paper released by Malacañang on Friday, June 22.

Montejo-Gonzaga's appointment paper was signed by Duterte on June 19.

She replaced former CA associate justice Romeo Barza.

Prior to her new appointment, Montejo-Gonzaga served as judge of Regional Trial Court Branch 4 in Panabo City, Davao del Norte.

As a judge, Montejo-Gonzaga was the one who ordered the arrest of self-confessed Davao Death Squad member Edgar Matobato in March 2017 for kidnapping a Turkish national in 2002.

It could be recalled that Matobato had accused Duterte of being behind the extrajudicial killings in Davao City during his mayorship. (Ruth Abbey Gita/SunStar Philippines)