Antonio T.

Carpio of Batch 70, Grand Archon 73, is one of the youngest appointees in the
Supreme Court, where he is now serving for more than 10 years as Associate Justice. He is
also currently the Chair of the Senate Electoral Tribunal. In the heat of the impeachment of
the Chief Justice and in the interest of public accountability and government transparency,
Carpio was the first justice to voluntarily file his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net
Worth (SALN). He was a nominee for the position of Chief Justice in 2010, and said that he
would only accept an appointment if it is issued by the next President. Carpio exhibits the
true spirit of a legal scholar. Many notable decisions by the high court which he penned are
assigned readings in law school and are considered substantial contribution to the growing
body of jurisprudential knowledge in Philippine constitutional law. Among these decisions
are Lambino v. COMELEC, which concerns the peoples initiative as a mode of
constitutional amendment; Estrada vs. Escritor, which involves the free exercise of religion in
bigamous relations; and Central Bank Employees vs. BSP, where he challenges the majority
opinion upholding the relative constitutionality doctrine to justify the applicability of salary
standardization without enabling legislation; He graduated valedictorian from the College of
Law of the University of the Philippines. He served as the Chairman of the Editorial Board of
the Philippine Law Journal. He was sixth in the 1975 Bar Examinations. He went into private
practice after graduation and also served as a Professorial Lecturer in the U.P. College of Law
for nearly a decade. He was then appointed as Chief Presidential Legal Counsel in the
administration of President Ramos in 1992. He was then appointed as Justice in the
Philippine Supreme Court in 2001.
Born in Davao City, Philippines, Justice Antonio T. Carpio was sworn in as member of the
Supreme Court on October 26, 2001.
Justice Carpio obtained his law degree from the College of Law of the University of the
Philippines where he graduated valedictorian and cum laude in 1975. He placed sixth in the
1975 Bar Examinations. He earned his undergraduate degree in Economics from Ateneo de
Manila University in 1970. In his student days, Justice Carpio was Chairman of the Editorial
Board of the Philippine Law Journal of the U.P. College of Law. He was Editor-in-Chief of
The Guidon, the school paper of Ateneo de Manila University. He also served as Managing
Editor of the Philippine Collegian, the school paper of the University of the Philippines.
Fresh out of law school, Justice Carpio went into private practice and founded the Carpio
Villaraza and Cruz Law firm. He was a Professorial Lecturer of the U.P. College of Law from
1983 until 1992 when he was appointed Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, Office of the
President of the Philippines.
Justice Carpio was a member of the Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines
from 1993 to 1998. He was a member of the Technology Transfer Board of the Department of
Industry from 1978 to 1979. He served as Special Representative of the Department of Trade
for textile negotiations from 1980 to 1981. He was elected President of the Integrated Bar of
the Philippines, Pasay-Makati Chapter (1985-1986), Director of the U.P. Law Alumni
Association (1984-1989), and Director of the Philippine Bar Association (1989-1990).

For his distinguished and exemplary service to the Republic, Justice Carpio was awarded in
1998 the Presidential Medal of Merit by then President Fidel Ramos. In 1991, Justice Carpio
received the Outstanding Achievement Award in Law from the Ateneo de Manila Alumni
Association. In 2002, he was also the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the
Ateneo de Davao Alumni Association. In 2009, he was conferred a Doctorate of Laws,
honoris causa, by the Ateneo de Davao University.
Justice Carpio is the Chairperson of the Supreme Courts Second Division and Chairperson of
the Senate Electoral Tribunal.
Excellence is the hallmark of this man's career.
He was the valedictorian of Class 1975 of the University of the Philippines College of Law.
He was the founder of one of the most influential law firms of the country. He was Chief
Presidential Legal Counsel to President Fidel V. Ramos and the legal architect of the levelplaying-field policy of the Ramos administration. For his "distinguished and exemplary
service" to the Republic of the Philippines he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit in
1998.
He is currently a Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines and his
written opinions are singular examples of legal scholarship and judicial integrity - for one, his
ponencia in the People's Initiative case will remain a shining example of adherence to the
ideals of the Philippine Constitution.
But he is here before us today because of a personal advocacy - to protect and preserve
Philippine territorial and maritime sovereignty specifically in the West Philippine Sea. He has
lectured and counseled on this issue before the Philippine Bar Association, the Philippine
Women Judges Association, De la Salle University, University of the Philippines, Ateneo de
Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency,
National Defense College of the Philippines, and the Department of National Defense, to
name a few.
He has done so, not because it is his job, but because he believes in the importance of "an
understanding by citizens of all claimant states ... either to restrain extreme nationalism
fueled by historical lies or to give hope to a just and durable settlement of the dispute based
not only on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea but also on respect for
actual historical facts."
Ladies and gentlemen, the authentically inspiring Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio.

Born in Davao City, Carpio finished grade school and high school at theAteneo de Davao
University. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Economics from the Ateneo de Manila
University in 1970 and his law degree from the University of the Philippines where he
graduated valedictorian and cum laude in 1975. He ranked sixth with a rating of 85.70% in
the 1975Philippine Bar Examination.[1] Fresh out of law school, Justice Carpio went into
private practice and founded the Carpio Villaraza and Cruz Law firm. [2]He soon emerged as
one of the more prominent and successful legal practitioners in the country. Carpio also
taught Tax law, Corporate law, Negotiable Instruments law, and Credit Transactions at
the U.P. College of Law from 1983 to 1992.
In 1992, he joined the administration of President Fidel Ramos as Chief Presidential Legal
Counsel of the Office of the President. During the presidency of Joseph Estrada, Carpio
returned to private practice and penned a regular opinion column published in the Philippine
Daily Inquirer.
Carpio was the first appointee of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to theSupreme Court of
the Philippines after her assumption into office in January 2001. At 52, he was one of the
youngest ever appointees to the Supreme Court.
Carpio is married to Ruth Nguyen and they have 2 children. Former Supreme Court Justice
and now-Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales[6] is his third cousin.Being the Senior
Associate Justice, he assumed the post as the Acting Chief Justice in May 29, 2012 until
the President will appoint a new chief justice coming from the list of candidates released by
the Judicial and Bar Council although he is a prospect of being the new Chief Justice. [4] He
assumed the post after his predecessor, Renato Corona was convicted by
the Senate Impeachment court for his failure to disclose in his Statement of Assets,
Liabilities, and Net Worth, dollar accounts that led to his removal in office, a penalty
authorized by the 1987 Constitution[5]