Duterte appoints new SC associate justice

BY GENALYN KABILING

President Duterte has appointed Court of Appeals Justice Jhosep Lopez as newest member of the Supreme Court, completing the 15-member roster of the High Tribunal.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea confirmed on Tuesday the appointment of Lopez as Supreme Court Associate Justice.

“Yes,” Medialdea said in text message when asked to confirm the latest SC appointment by the President.

Lopez, a graduate of University of the Philippines, was appointed to the CA back in 2011. He previously served as council of Manila from 2001 to 2006 and chief city prosecutor in 2006.

The President picked Lopez from the shortlist of applicants nominated by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) for the post of Supreme Court justice.

Prior to the appointment of Lopez, the High Court has a lone vacancy after Associate Justice Priscilla Baltazar Padilla decided to retire early last year. The disability retirement of Padilla was approved by the Supreme Court in November 2020.

He passed the bar examination with a rating of 84.55%.

Before running for Manila City Council, Lopez worked at the office of former Senate President Jovito Salonga. He was later on appointed as the chief legal counsel at the Senate of the Philippines.

Lopez was appointed as Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals in 2012.