Arroyo appoints Jose Perez as SC justice

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has appointed another associate justice to the Supreme Court, her 14th appointee to the 15-member high tribunal. Jose Portugal Perez, who has been serving the Supreme Court for the last 37 years, was appointed on Christmas Eve, filling the post vacated by Leonardo Quisumbing. Quisumbing retired on his 70th birthday last November 6, 11 years after he was appointed by former President Fidel Ramos. Perez, whose appointment papers were received by the high court on Thursday, will be sworn in on Saturday, according to Jose Midas Marquez, the high tribunal’s spokesman and deputy court administrator. The 63-year-old Perez, a graduate of the University of the Philippines, started as legal assistant of the Supreme Court in 1972 and steadily rose from the ranks until he was promoted as court administrator in 2008. He was also a member of the Philippine delegation to the Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV During the April 2009 review, Perez and the other 26 members of the delegation headed by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita were bombarded with questions about the alleged inaction of the Philippine government on UN Rapporteur Philip Alston’s recommendation to prosecute human rights violators in the country. Perez once said that his long career in the high court had its ups and downs, according to an article posted on the Supreme Court website. “There would be times when I would doubt my career choice, especially when I would have to hitch rides with my classmates when we would go out." The article said that it was when Perez would entertain such thoughts that he would suddenly find himself promoted, and it was his steady ascent up the high tribunal ladder that encouraged him to stay. Mrs. Arroyo still has to appoint one more justice to complete the 15-member high court after Minita Chico-Nazario, also an Arroyo appointee, retired last December 5. The Supreme Court will practically become an Arroyo court once the chief executive appoints the 15th magistrate. Chief Justice Reynato Puno is the only justice in the high court who was not appointed by Mrs. Arroyo. Puno, who was picked by Ramos, is set to retire on May 17, 2010, his 70th birthday. - Aie Balagtas See/RJB Jr/ARCS GMANews.TV