Newly appointed Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Jose Midas P. Marquez took his oath of office before Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 16, at the SC’s session hall.
Justice Marquez, who has been the SC’s court administrator since 2010, took the post vacated by Associate Justice Edgardo L. Delos Santos last June 30.
His appointment papers were transmitted to Chief Justice Gesmundo’s office by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea on Tuesday, Nov. 16.
As associate justice, Marquez is expected to serve the SC until 2036 when he reaches age 70, the retirement age for members of the judiciary.
His appointment completed the 15 memberships in the SC.
By January next year, there would be a vacancy when Associate Justice Rosmari D. Carandang retires. The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) -- the constitutional offices that accepts, screens, and nominates appointments to the judiciary – had opened the application and nomination to the post.
Marquez passed the bar examinations in 1994. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics in 1987 and his Juris Doctor degree in 1993, both from the Ateneo de Manila University.
He started his career in the SC as an apprentice and did legal research. He then became a regular law clerk and served several justices, among them then Chief Justices Reynato S. Puno and Renato Corona, Senior Associate Justice Josue N. Bellosillo and Associate Justices Abraham Sarmiento and Ameurfina Melencio Herrera.
He was appointed as the 14th court administrator in 2010. As court administrator, he also served as SC spokesman and head of the public information office (PIO).
As court administrator, he supervised for the SC all lower courts in the country.
He is a law professor. He is in the faculty of the Centro Escolar University’s School of Law and Jurisprudence.
He is also an author and editor of law books.