Jose Armando R. Melo (30 May 1932 – 18 October 2020) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

lawyer and jurist who served as an

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 1992 to 2002. He also served as Chairman of the

Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

(COMELEC), and was succeeded by election lawyer

Sixto Brillantes Sixto Serrano Brillantes Jr. (, August 14, 1939August 11, 2020) was a Filipino election lawyer who was the chairman of the Commission on Elections from 2011 to 2015. He was appointed by President Benigno Aquino III on January 16, 2011 to serve ...

Early life and education

Melo was born in the

Philippine General Hospital The Philippine General Hospital (also known as University of the Philippines–Philippine General Hospital or UP–Philippine General Hospital), simply referred to as UP–PGH or PGH, is a tertiary state-owned hospital administered and operated ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

but spent most of his childhood in

Angeles City , anthem = Himno ning Angeles (Angeles Hymn) , subdivision_type3 = District , subdivision_name3 = , established_title = Settled , established_date = 1796 , established_title1 = Chartere ...

. He graduated at Sta. Ana Elementary School in 1946 and at

Victorino Mapa High School Victorino Mapa High School ( fil, Mataas na Paaralang Victorino Mapa) (formerly Manila East High School), situated in San Miguel, Manila, is one of the oldest public high schools in the city. It has produced a list of successful graduates in va ...

in 1950. He attended Manuel L. Quezon University for college and was the business manager and editor of the M.L.Q. Law Quarterly. In 1956, he finished his

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

and later that year passed the bar examinations with a rating of 85.5%. He obtained his

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

at the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Migue ...

in 1960 with the highest grade of ''meritissimus''.

Career

Melo began his law practice as a staff member of the Diokno Law Office, the law firm of Senator Jose W. Diokno, from 1957 to 1962. From 1962 to 1971, he was a member of the staff of the Office of the President, rising from Executive Assistant to Junior Presidential Staff Assistant. From 1969 to 1975, he was the legal adviser at the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures. During the 1970s, he worked at the

Office of the Solicitor General The Office of the Solicitor General of the Philippines ( fil, Tanggapan ng Taga-usig Panlahat), formerly known as the Bureau of Justice, is an independent and autonomous office attached to the Department of Justice. The OSG is headed by Menardo G ...

, the

Professional Regulation Commission The Professional Regulation Commission, ( fil, Komisyon sa Regulasyon ng mga Propesyon) otherwise known as the PRC, is a three-man commission attached to Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Its mandate is to regulate and supervise the pr ...

as an acting Commissioner, and as Commissioner of the

Civil Service Commission A civil service commission is a government agency that is constituted by legislature to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, oversee hiring and promotions, and promote the values of the public service. Its role is rough ...

. He also worked as a “confidential assistant” to the chair of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission and an advisor in the

Philippine National Bank The Philippine National Bank (PNB, Filipino/ tl, Bangko Nasyonal ng Pilipinas, lit=; es, Banco Nacional Filipino; Hokkien ) is one of the largest banks in the Philippines. It was established by the Philippine government on July 22, 1916, duri ...

Judicial career

In 1986, Melo was appointed to the

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Corazon Aquino. About six years later, he was appointed by President

Fidel Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

to the Supreme Court on August 10, 1992. Melo served for ten years on the High Court, retiring after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 on May 30, 2002.

Melo Commission

On August 21, 2006, President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...

created an investigating body headed by Melo to probe the extrajudicial and political killings which had targeted militant activists and members of the press. The body, popularly known as the Melo Commission, rendered a report which concluded that most of the killings were instigated by the

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The ...

, but found no proof linking the murder of activists to a "national policy" as claimed by the left-wing groups. On the other hand, the report "linked state security forces to the murder of militants and recommended that military officials, notably retired major general

Jovito Palparan Jovito Salvaña Palparan Jr. (born September 11, 1950) is a retired Army general, former politician, and a convicted criminal. From July 2003 to July 2004, he was the commander of the Philippine Humanitarian Contingent in the Iraq War. He also ...

, be held liable under the principle of command responsibility for killings in their areas of assignment."

Commission on Elections

In January 2008, three months after the resignation of then-COMELEC Chairman Benjamin Abalos, President Macapagal-Arroyo announced the appointment of Melo as Chairman of the Commission on Elections. The announcement was not spared from criticisms as critics pointed out his role as Abalos' lawyer when he testified in the Senate investigation into the NBN-ZTE deal. Nevertheless, his appointment was confirmed by the

Commission on Appointments The Commission on Appointments ( fil, Komisyon sa Paghirang, abbreviated as CA) is a constitutional body which confirms or rejects certain political appointments made by the President of the Philippines. The current commission was created by th ...

in June 2008. During his term, he oversaw the country's transition to full automated elections leading up to the 2010 general election. He also introduced reforms for detainee voting and campaign finance reporting. He resigned from his post in January 2011 cutting short his supposedly seven-year term. He was succeeded by

Personal life and death

Melo was married to Norma Cruz, with whom he had three children, Olivia Ann, Jaime Alberto, and Jorge Alfonso. He died on October 18, 2020, and was cremated on October 21. Melo was the second ex-COMELEC chief to have died in 2020 after his successor Sixto Brillantes died of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

last August 11.

References

External links

Supreme Court E-Library: Memorabilia Room
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melo, Jose A.R. 1932 births 2020 deaths Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Chairpersons of the Commission on Elections of the Philippines 20th-century Filipino judges People from Manila Manuel L. Quezon University alumni Arroyo administration personnel Justices of the Court of Appeals of the Philippines University of Santo Tomas alumni 21st-century Filipino judges Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines