by: Tara Quismundo, Philippine Daily Inquirer 04/26/13

MANILA, Philippines—The panel of five international arbitrators that would hear the Philippines’ case against China’s claims in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) has been completed, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday.

DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said that Judge Shunji Yanai, president of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Itlos), had appointed the last three members of the panel.

“That means the case is moving and, as expected, we are hoping that this case that we filed in the tribunal will proceed as soon as possible,” said Hernandez in a press briefing.

In a letter dated April 24, Yanai informed Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza, head of the Philippine legal team pursuing the case, that the panel had been completed.

MANILA, Philippines --- Malacañang disclosed yesterday that President Benigno S. Aquino III has appointed Assistant Solicitor General Roman G. Del Rosario as the new presiding justice of the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA).

Del Rosario will replace Ernesto D. Acosta, the first and last presiding justice of the Court of Tax Appeals before the passage of Republic Act (RA) 9282, which expanded its jurisdiction from civil tax cases to include cases that are criminal in nature, as well as local tax cases, property taxes, and final collection of taxes.