SC honors retired Justice Jose Perez in online necrological service

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday honored retired Justice Jose Perez, who passed away on August 12 at the age of 74 after a two-year bout with cancer.

Among those who gave their eulogies during an online necrological service were Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno, retired SC Justice Angelina Sandoval Gutierrez, and Deputy Court Administrator Raul Villanueva, according to the SC Public Information Office.

Gesmundo described Perez as “a man of honor, integrity, [and] decency.”

“He was no intellectual pushover, given his academic credentials,” said Puno of Perez, who graduated among the top 10 of his batch at the University of the Philippines College of Law.

Villanueva said Perez was a humble person, adding he would miss the former magistrate’s “infectious smile and laughter.”

“He loved the people in the Supreme Court and the trial courts, and he was loved back,” Villanueva said.

Perez served the top court for 45 years.

From working as technical assistant in the Court in 1971, he was promoted to various posts—court attorney, chief of the Office of the Reporter, Assistant Court Administrator, Deputy Court Administrator, and Court Administrator—until he was appointed as the 167th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on December 26, 2009. He retired from the Court in December 2016.

He wrote the ruling that affirmed the constitutionality of the power of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to look into bank deposits and investments.

He was also the writer of the decision that found Senator Grace Poe a natural-born Filipino citizen, thus allowing her to run for president in the May 2016 national elections.

Perez is survived by his wife Expedita, children, and grandchildren.—AOL, GMA News