(Eagle News)– President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed law school classmate retired Pasig Regional Trial Court Judge Toribio Elises Ilao Jr. as a member of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).
He replaces retired Court of Appeals Justice Aurora Santiago-Lagman, who left the post last July 9 as representative of the private sector.
Ilao is set to serve a term of four years or until July 9, 2020.
There are reports saying Duterte had engaged Ilao in a fistfight during their law school days but became good friends after the incident.
Duterte can still name two Supreme Court judges by the end of the year since Associate Justices Jose Perez and Arturo Brion will reach mandatory retirement age of 70 on December 14 and December 29, respectively.