President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed an appellate court justice as a new associate justice of the Supreme Court.

Duterte named Noel Tijam, 68, to the SC post, replacing Arturo Brion, who retired on December 29, 2016. His appointment paper came out on Wednesday.

Tijam is an associate justice of the Court of Appeals and was a schoolmate of the President at San Beda Law School. He is the second San Beda appointee of Duterte, with Samuel Martires being the first.

He graduated magna cum laude from San Beda in 1967, with a degree in Bachelor of Arts, major in philosophy and political science.

In 1994, he was appointed Presiding Judge of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, Branch 221. He served as president of the Quezon City RTC Judges Association. In 2003, he was promoted to the Court of Appeals.

Duterte swore into office on Wednesday Samuel Martires, his first appointee to the High Tribunal, in Malacanang. Martires replaced retired Associate Justice Jose Perez. Celerina Monte/DMS