President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed Commission on Audit (COA) Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba as the next Supreme Court associate justice, replacing retiring Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier, who will retire on November 16, 2026. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro announced the appointment during a briefing at the International Media Center in Pasay City, saying Marcos has yet to name the official who will succeed Cordoba as COA chairperson.

Castro said the President is designating officials to other government agencies because he sees their potential in their new posts. She added that a leader moved to another agency should not be seen as having lost the President's trust, since the appointee in the new position is expected to show even greater determination.S2

Cordoba's tenure at COA included submitting at least 50 fraud audit reports to the Office of the Ombudsman and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, and institutionalizing GPS-based geotagging of all government infrastructure projects nationwide to verify project status. He earlier served as commissioner of the National Telecommunications Commission under four administrations from 2009 to 2022, where he approved Starlink's entry in a record 30 minutes and cracked down on text scams and online child sexual abuse material.S2

A graduate of Ateneo de Manila University, where he earned a bachelor of arts in economics in 1992 and a juris doctor in 1996, Cordoba passed the Bar in 1997. Before joining government in 2001 he practiced law at a private firm and worked as a tax lawyer, and he has also served as external auditor of the International Labour Organization and the World Trade Organization. He was chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Supreme Audit Institutions for 2024 and 2025, and this year received the Gawad Gat Andres Bonifacio Award, the City of Manila's highest honor.S2S1

Cordoba's appointment is among the latest leadership changes under the Marcos administration.S2