Martin Villarama Jr.

Martin S. Villarama Jr. (born April 14, 1946) is a Filipino lawyer who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from November 3, 2009, to January 16, 2016. Prior to his appointment as associate justice of the Supreme Court, he served as associate justice of the Court of Appeals since March 11, 1998. He also served in the Regional Trial Court of Pasig as judge from 1986 to 1998 and as its executive judge from 1992 to 1996.

Early life and education Villarama was born on April 14, 1946.

In November 2009, after a few nominations to the Supreme Court, he was appointed the 166th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He assumed the post vacated by retired Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago. In January 2012, at the height of the Impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona he made news by voluntarily releasing his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth to news organizations. On January 16, 2016, he retired early citing a deteriorating health condition due to a double-knee metal implantation in 2013 and cataract operation in 2014. His retirement was three months ahead of his 70th birthday, which was the mandatory retirement age.

Awards Throughout his career, Villarama has gotten a number of awards for his service. He is a recipient of Ulirang Ama Award for Law and Judiciary in 1997 and Katangi-tanging Anak ng Angat, Bulacan, in 2003. During the 71st anniversary of the Court of Appeals he was recognized as one of the justices with the least pending cases. Prior to that he was already awarded the Zero-Backlog Cash Award on February 2, 2001, and October 27, 2009. He was also awarded as an Outstanding Alumnus of Manuel L. Quezon University in 2010.