Martin S. Villarama Jr. (born April 14, 1946) is a Filipino lawyer who served as an

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 ...

from November 3, 2009, to January 16, 2016. Prior to his appointment as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, he served as Associate Justice of the

Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

since March 11, 1998. He also served in the Regional Trial Court of Pasig as Judge from 1986 to 1998 and as its Executive Judge from 1992 to 1996.

Early life and education

Villarama was born on April 14, 1946. He obtained his degree in Business Administration from

De La Salle University De La Salle University (), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private, Catholic coeducational research university run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools with main campus in Taft Avenue, Malate, Man ...

. He took Bachelor of Laws from Manuel L. Quezon University.

Career

Villarama had begun his law career as a technical assistant in the Legal Research Division (now Office of the Chief Attorney) of the Supreme Court in 1970. He then worked as Legal Counsel or corporate secretary for several companies including the Philippine Carpet Manufacturing Corporation, UTEX, FILSYN, and Philippine Cotton Corporation. He also worked as a lecturer for Manuel L. Quezon University from 1973 up to 1994. He rejoined the Judiciary after being appointed as Judge of the Pasig

Regional Trial Court The regional trial courts (RTC; ) are the highest trial courts in the Philippines. In criminal matters, they have original jurisdiction. History It was formerly called as the Court of First Instance since the Spanish colonial period. It cont ...

and served there from November 5, 1986, to April 5, 1998. He served as its Executive Judge from 1992 to 1996. He then served as the Associate Justice of

from 1998 until 2009 where he served as chair of the Fifth Division and supervising justice of the Judicial Records Division. He also served as examiner in the 2004 Bar Examinations and as lecturer at the Philippine Judicial Academy in 2007. In November 2009, after a few nominations to the Supreme Court, he was appointed as the 166th

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 ...

by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He assumed the vacated post by retired Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago. In January 2012, at the height of the Impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona he made news by voluntarily releasing his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth to news organizations. On January 16, 2016, he retired early citing a deteriorating health condition due to this double-knee metal implantation in 2013 and cataract operation in 2014. His retirement was three months ahead of his 70th birthday, which was the mandatory retirement age.

Awards

Throughout his career, Villarama has gotten a number of awards for his service. He is a recipient of Ulirang Ama Award for Law and Judiciary in 1997 and Katangi-tanging Anak ng Angat,

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...

in 2003. During the 71st anniversary of the Court of Appeals he was recognized as one of the justices with the least pending cases. Prior to that he was already awarded the Zero-Backlog Cash Award on February 2, 2001, and October 27, 2009. He was also awarded as an Outstanding Alumnus of Manuel L. Quezon University in 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villarama, Martin S. 1946 births Living people People from Bulacan Lawyers from Quezon City De La Salle University alumni Manuel L. Quezon University alumni Justices of the Court of Appeals of the Philippines Associate justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines