President Ferdinand Marcos named UP College of Law dean Darlene Berberabe as the new Solicitor General, replacing Menardo Guevarra.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said Berberabe already took her oath this morning.

“As a top-caliber lawyer with an impressive management background, she will surely do as well as Solicitor General,” he said in a text message.

Berberabe was elected UP Law dean in 2023.

She previously worked as CEO of Pag-IBIG Fund in 2010.

Berberabe obtained her bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from UP in 1995, graduating summa cum laude and class valedictorian. She obtained her law degree from UP Law in 1999, graduating salutatorian.

Prior to her appointment as Solicitor General, she was among the contenders interviewed by the Judicial and Bar Council earlier this month for the replacement of Supreme Court Associate Justice Mario Lopez who will retire on June 4, 2025.

Guevarra’s exit from OSG comes after his controversial refusal to represent government agencies in petitions before the Supreme Court on the actions of officials which led to Duterte’s arrest.

The solicitor general had asserted that the ICC had no jurisdiction over the Philippines due to its 2019 withdrawal from the Rome Statute that created the tribunal.

Guevarra said he might “go back to a quiet and peaceful private life.”