Supreme Court facade. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
President Duterte on Wednesday named a fellow San Beda law graduate as his second appointee to the Supreme Court.
Court of Appeals Justice Noel Tijam is the 176th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, replacing retired Justice Arturo Brion. His appointment completes the 15 members of the country’s highest court.
Tijam’s designation came as Mr. Duterte’s first Supreme Court appointee, Justice Samuel Martires, took his oath in Malacañang on Wednesday. Martires, a former Sandiganbayan Justice, is also a San Beda law graduate.
Tijam graduated cum laude from the San Beda College of Law in 1971 and was the class salutatorian.
He also obtained his undergraduate degree from the same school. He graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree, major in philosophy and political science.
Prior to joining the Court of Appeals, he worked as a legal consultant at the Senate, assistant vice president and deputy corporate secretary of the Government Service Insurance System, and legal counsel and corporate secretary of the Manila Hotel Corporation and the Westin Philippine Plaza.