Jose Portugal Perez (December 14, 1946 – August 12, 2021) was a Filipino lawyer who was appointed

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines An associate justice of the Supreme Court () is one of fifteen members of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Supreme Court, the highest court in the Philippines. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, chief justice presid ...

in 2009. He had served the

Supreme Court of the Philippines The Supreme Court (; colloquially referred to as the ' (also used in formal writing), is the highest court in the Philippines. It was established by the Taft Commission on June 11, 1901, through the enactment of Act No. 136, which abolished th ...

administration from 1971, starting as technical assistant and attaining the post of court administrator in 2008. He is the only member of the bench to be appointed from the administration.

Early life and education

Perez was born on December 14, 1946. His parents are Luciano G. Perez and Engracia R. Portugal, both of Ibaan, Batangas. He completed his elementary education at

St. Bridget College St. Bridget College is a Catholic education institution founded by the Religious of the Good Shepherd in 1913. At present, its main campus is located at Marcelo H. del Pilar, M.H. del Pilar Street, Batangas City, Philippines. It is one of the ma ...

in 1959. He then graduated as valedictorian of the Batangas City High School in 1963. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

in 1967 wherein he was one of its top 10 graduates. He was awarded Bachelor of Laws from

University of the Philippines College of Law The University of the Philippines College of Law (often referred to as UP Law) is the law school of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Formally established in 1911 in UP Manila, it is the third oldest continually-operating law school ...

in 1971. He was accepted by the

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to the area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of educa ...

and

Phi Gamma Mu Phi ( ; uppercase Φ, lowercase φ or ϕ; ''pheî'' ; Modern Greek: ''fi'' ) is the twenty-first letter of the Greek alphabet. In Archaic and Classical Greek (c. 9th to 4th century BC), it represented an aspirated voiceless bilabial plos ...

Honor Societies as well as the university's law honor society, the Order of the Purple Feather.

Career

Fresh from graduation, Perez started working at the

as Technical Assistant in 1971. He then moved up, with appointments as Legal Assistant (1972–1973), Judicial Assistant (1974–1976) and, in 1977, a confidential attorney in the Office of Chief Justice

Fred Ruiz Castro Fred Ruiz Castro (September 2, 1914 – April 19, 1979) was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from January 5, 1976, until his death on April 19, 1979, while on an official trip to India. Personal life He was born to Dr. ...

. In 1980 he was the supervising attorney in the office of the Chief Attorney where he rose to the position of Assistant Chief. In 1987 he was named a Deputy Clerk of the Court, promoted as Assistant Court Administrator in 1996 then finally as Deputy Court Administrator in 2000. He served as acting Court Administrator several times before his appointment as Court Administrator in 2008. Following the retirement of Associate Justice Leonardo A. Quisumbing on November 6, 2009, Perez was appointed by President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...

as her 14th appointee to the court. In 2012, Perez was nominated by the Asia Pacific Bar Association for appointment to the Chief Justice position vacated by

Renato Corona Renato Tereso Antonio Coronado Corona (October 15, 1948 – April 29, 2016) was a Filipino judge who was the 23rd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2010 to 2012. He served as an associate justice after being appointe ...

Personal life and death

Perez was married to Expedita Sabile and they had three children together. Perez died on August 12, 2021, aged 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Jose 1946 births 2021 deaths University of the Philippines alumni Associate justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines People from Batangas City