Apolinario Bruselas Jr.
Apolinario Bruselas Jr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals of the Philippines | |
| In office August 1, 2005 – May 6, 2026 | |
| Appointed by | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo |
| Preceded by | Romeo Brawner Sr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 6, 1956 |
| Spouse | Marie Angela P.M. Bruselas |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of the Philippines (BA Economics, Bachelor of Laws) |
| Profession | Lawyer, Judge, Jurist |
Apolinario Dado Bruselas Jr. is a Filipino lawyer, jurist, and retired Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals of the Philippines. He was appointed to the appellate court by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on August 1, 2005.[1]
Bruselas has been advocating since 2015 using the Filipino language in court, as opposed to English language, which has been used as the lingua franca for many years, because most criminal defendants in the Philippines only use a variety of Tagalog.[2]
In 2019, Bruselas was on the short list for nomination to one of two vacancies for the Supreme Court of the Philippines,[3] but President Duterte chose two other candidates. In 2023, Bruselas was also one of seven finalists for the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals,[4] but also was not chosen by Duterte. A defendant filed a complaint against Bruselas that the judge was late in providing relief to him, during the time when Brucelas was up for a promotion, which also occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.[5]
References
- ↑ "CALESA Speakers — PHILJA". Philippine Judicial Academy. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
- ↑ Bautista, Jane (July 1, 2025). "CA justice pushing Filipino as primary court language". The Inquirer. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
With English the language predominantly used in the country's courtrooms, a Court of Appeals (CA) justice has been trying for more than a decade to cause a ripple of change in the system by writing decisions in Filipino as part of his efforts to bring the courts closer to ordinary people. It's a challenging task, Associate Justice Apolinario Bruselas Jr. told the Inquirer, but one that he hopes will become more common among his peers to ensure that all accused incapable of reading, writing, or comprehending English can fully understand the cases against them.
- ↑ Caliwan, Christopher Lloyd (September 4, 2018). "16 applicants vying for SC justice post: JBC". Philippines News Agency. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
- ↑ "JBC: 7 Applying For CA Presiding Justice". Politiko. July 27, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
- ↑ Navallo, Mike (April 7, 2022). "Pharmally's Mohit Dargani files complaint vs CA justice seeking SC post". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved June 26, 2026.