PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Judge Lorifel L. Pahimna of Taguig City Regional Trial Court as magistrate of the Sandiganbayan.
In a transmittal letter to Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea informed her of the appointment of Pahimna as associate justice of the anti-graft court vice Associate Justice Napoleon E. Inoturan who retired early in August last year.
Pahimna was admitted to the Bar on May 30, 1987.
The new Sandiganbayan justice had handled high-profile and controversial cases during her stint as a judge, notably the annulment of marriage of actress Carmina Villaruel and actor Rustom Padilla as well as the denial of the temporary protection order of model Deniece Cornejo.
In December 2007, Pahimna also convicted 12 Abu Sayyaf members for kidnapping 20 people from Dos Palmas resort in Puerto Princesa in Palawan on May 2001.
Among the abducted tourists were Peruvian-American Guillermo Sobero, as well as American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham.
In 2008, Pahimna was among the three Regional Trial Court judges recognized by the Supreme Court for their outstanding performance in the Judiciary.
Pahimna was given the Jose Abad Santos award.
Last year, the lady judge convicted a woman for pimping out minors including her own 10-year-old daughter for cyber sex.
