MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Court of Appeals (CA) Justice Amy Lazaro Javier to the Supreme Court, his 8th appointment to the High Court excluding his Chief Justice picks.

This was confirmed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to Rappler. Javier is taking the place of newly-retired Justice Noel Tijam.

Javier’s appointment comes after numerous applications to the Bench. She beat to the post fellow CA justices who, like her, are frequent applicants.

In her previous Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) interview, Javier said she “does not see Duterte as an enemy of women.” It was a response to the question by the JBC panel on what she thinks her chances are, given Duterte’s “predilection for male appointees.”

“I do not see the President as an enemy of women. I see him as a person who respects and loves his late mother, who he credits to have unconditionally loved him, and brought out the leader that he is,” Javier said.

Javier has been with the CA since 2007. She was previously with the Office of the Solicitor General. She obtained her law degree from the University of Santo Tomas (UST).

Javier also said she favors federalism as a solution to improve “the economy and judicial system in the country.”

In a JBC interview in 2016, Javier said the Supreme Court should not have granted a hero’s burial to the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was “convicted by the people” during the 1987 EDSA People Power uprising.

Javier is 62 years old and will retire in November 2026. – Rappler.com