Retired SC Justice Jose Perez passes away

Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Jose Portugal Perez died on Thursday, the high court confirmed. He was 74 years old.

"The Judiciary mourns the passing today of its 167th Associate Justice, Hon. Jose Portugal Perez," the Philippine SC Public Information Office said on Twitter.

The Judiciary mourns the passing today of its 167th Associate Justice, Hon. Jose Portugal Perez. He was a court insider who worked his way up the ranks as a Technical Assistant in 1971 until his appointment as Associate Justice on Dec. 26, 2009. He retired on Dec. 14, 2016. pic.twitter.com/NYw4mGn987

— Philippine Supreme Court Public Information Office (@SCPh_PIO) August 12, 2021

Prior to becoming SC Justice, Perez was a court insider then turned Technical Assistant in 1971.

Perez, a University of the Philippines graduate, was promoted to court administrator in 2008.

He was designated by former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as Associate Justice on December 26, 2009 and retired at the age of 70 on December 14, 2016. 

Perez was also a member of the Philippine delegation to the Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.—LDF, GMA News