Who is new Solicitor General Darlene Berberabe?

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A UP summa cum laude and law class salutatorian, Berberabe also previously served as Pag-IBIG fund head under the Aquino administration

MANILA, Philippines – University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law dean Darlene Marie Berberabe is the new Solicitor General, replacing Menardo Guevarra whose courtesy resignation has been accepted by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Berberabe took her oath before the President on the day her appointment was announced, Thursday, May 29. Guevarra told Rappler that he will turn over his office to her on Friday, May 30.

Berberabe is among the current applicants for Supreme Court justice, currently being vetted by the Judicial and Bar Council. She interviewed for the job on May 14, after which the JBC will send a short list to Marcos so he could make his first pick for the Supreme Court, a bench dominated by Duterte appointees. The opening is for the upcoming retirement of Associate Justice Mario Lopez, a Duterte appointee.

The appointment takes Berberabe out of contention for Lopez’s replacement in the Supreme Court.

As the new Solicitor General, Berberabe will head the OSG that serves as the government’s statutory legal counsel.

The OSG is mainly busy with helping the Philippine government with its legal needs, for example in reviewing and enforcing contracts for projects, including infrastructure. When the government is sued by private citizens or private claimants, the OSG defends the government in court.

This has made the OSG controversial of late because Guevarra refused to defend the Marcos government when the Duterte children filed a Supreme Court case against it over the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

This position is important because the OSG represents the Philippine government in legal proceedings before judicial bodies. The OSG is also involved in “the enforcement of any contract, bond, guarantee, mortgage, pledge or other collateral executed in favor of the government.”

The OSG’s most public-facing function is overseeing proceedings related to acquisition or loss of Philippine citizenship. Those seeking annulments also need to deal with the OSG.

From PAG-IBIG to UP law

Berberabe was appointed UP law dean in November 2023. She served as senior lecturer before her deanship. She also served as a professorial lecturer on jurisprudence and legal philosophy at the Philippine Judicial Academy.

The OSG will not be Berberabe’s first government appointment.

She served as chief executive officer of the Pag-IBIG fund under late former president Benigno Aquino III’s administration.

It was during her time when the fund was accused of being pressured into entering into a deal with a security agency allegedly owned by then-vice president Jejomar Binay. However, Berberabe denied the allegations.

In the corporate field, Berberabe served as one of SM Prime’s board of directors.

Berberabe obtained her philosophy degree from UP, graduating summa cum laude and class valedictorian of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy in 1989. She became the first female instructor of Philosophy in the university, and later earned her Masters in Philosophy.

In 1999, Berberabe graduated salutatorian of her UP law class. She is the former wife of late Philippine Basketball Association legend Avelino “Samboy” Lim. – Rappler.com