Duterte appoints first justice to Supreme Court

March 6, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte has named Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Samuel Martires to the Supreme Court, his first as chief executive.

In a letter to Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno on Monday, the Office of the President said Duterte appointed Martires to succeed Associate Justice Jose Perez who retired on December 14 last year.

Martires was among the five nominees submitted to Malacanang last December by the Judicial and Bar Council.

Duterte has yet to name the replacement of Associate Justice Arturo Brion who retired from the Supreme Court on December 29, 2016. Duterte will appoint at least 11 justices in the High Tribunal during his term.

During the previous administration, former president Benigno Aquino III appointed mostly outsiders. These are Sereno and Associate Justices Marvic Leonen, Francis Jardeleza and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.

During his public interview, Martires supported the SC decision last year allowing the burial of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

He agreed with the concurring opinion of Associate Justice Jose Mendoza the case involves a political question. In the said opinion, Mendoza said allowing Marcos’ burial at the heroes cemetery does not necessarily make him a hero and does not rewrite the nation’s history on martial law.

Martires said he has always believed “Marcos wasn't ousted, but he opted to leave to prevent bloodshed.” DMS