Raul Villanueva

Raul Bautista Villanueva is a Filipino lawyer and the 195th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He is the first appointee to the high court by President Bongbong Marcos since 15 June 2025.

Early life and education

Raul Villanueva was born in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, and graduated at the top of his class in Narvacan South Central School in 1976, and with honors in high school from Lourdes School in Quezon City in 1981. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, in 1985 and his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1990.

Judicial career

Villanueva was appointed Presiding Judge of Branch 255 of the Regional Trial Court in Las Piñas City on December 5, 2002. During his tenure, he also took on the roles of Acting Presiding Judge for Branch 267 of the RTC in Taguig City and Branch 4 of the RTC in Manila.
In March 2009, he was appointed as the Executive Judge of the RTC in Las Piñas. He has served as the Executive Vice President of the Philippine Judges Association and was the founding President of the Las Piñas City Judges Association.