Holding a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines, Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales has dedicated 47 years of her life to public service, including serving at the Department of Justice, at the judiciary as Regional Trial Court Judge, as a Court of Appeals Justice, and as a Supreme Court Justice.

After retiring in June 2011 from the Supreme Court where she served for almost nine years, she was appointed in July 2011 as the fifth Ombudsman of the Republic of the Philippines, which she held for a seven-year term until July 2018.

For her unblemished and sterling public service, including her tireless campaign against corruption, she was named Filipino of the Year by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, bestowed the Fearless and Peerless Crusader Award by the Philippine Constitution Commission, the Ramon Magsaysay Award (Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize) for “restoring faith in the rule of law,” and Tandang Sora Award by the Quezon City Government and the National Historical Commission. She was also conferred Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) by her alma mater, the University of the Philippines; and a Doctor of Public Administration (Honoris Causa) by the Ateneo de Naga University, Philippines.

She presently chairs the Board of Directors of the Akademyang Filipino, an organization of thought leaders who aim to elevate the discourse on national issues. She has joined those who are pursuing the resolution of unresolved issues bearing on the West Philippine Sea dispute.