MANILA, Philippines – Court of Appeals Associate Justice Noel Tijam is the second Supreme Court magistrate to be appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Tijam was appointed by Duterte, his former classmate, a Palace source told The STAR.
Palace source says President Duterte has appointed Noel Tijam as SC Associate Justice @PhilippineStar @PhilstarNews
— Alexis B. Romero (@alexisbromero) March 8, 2017
The CA magistrate will succeed SC Associate Justice Arturo Brion who retired last December 14.
Noel Tijam is an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals. He is a Bedan @PhilippineStar @PhilstarNews
— Alexis B. Romero (@alexisbromero) March 8, 2017
Tijam’s appointment came two days after Samuel Martires, an associate justice of the Sandiganbayan and also Duterte's schoolmate at San Beda, was named the 175th Associate Justice.
Tijam graduated magna cum laude from San Beda College in 1967 with a degree in philosophy and political science. He graduated cum laude and class salutatorian from the San Beda College of Law in 1971 and passed the bar examinations in the same year.
He served as legal consultant at the Senate representing Sen. Victor Ziga in the blue ribbon, economic affairs, national defense and security, ways and mean, and ethics and privileges committees.
Tijam also served as assistant vice president and deputy corporate secretary of the Government Service Insurance System and as legal counsel and corporate secretary of the Manila Hotel Corp. and the Westin Philippine Plaza.
He was also a board director of Comsavings Bank.
Tijam was named presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, Branch 221 in 1994. He was promoted to the Court of Appeals in 2003.
He was a senior member of the appellate court’s 11th division before he was appointed to the Supreme Court.
Tijam is a professorial lecturer at the Philippine Judicial Academy where he is part of the Remedial Law Department. He handles subjects on pre-trial and trial skills, legal ethics, oral advocacy, legal writing and remedial law.
The newly appointed Supreme Court justice is married to Ma. Cynthia Cornejo Tijam, with whom he has three children.
During the Judicial Bar Council interview last November, Tijam said he will remain independent in his decisions despite being the former president's classmate. He said he had previously written decisions against two other former presidents.
“Presidents do not make any attempt to influence judges and I have never experienced that... Knowing him (Duterte), he's full of pride, he has a personality, he will be the last person to ask favors in the judiciary,” Tijam previously said.
Duterte is set to appoint another SC justice this year since Associate Justice Bienvenido Reyes will retire by July 6. -- with reports by Alexis Romero