The Supreme Court (SC) has designated its spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez as the new chief of the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), replacing now SC Associate Justice Jose Perez.

Marquez took his oath of office before Chief Justice Reynato Puno last Wednesday, a day after the justices of the High Court approved his designation during a full court session.

Prior to his designation as OCA chief, Marquez was Puno’s chief of staff, deputy court administrator, and chief of the High Court’s Public Information Office (PIO).

The position of OCA chief is equivalent to the rank of the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals (CA). It could be a stepping stone to becoming an SC magistrate given the fact that two incumbent justices of the 15-member tribunal were former court administrators – Associate Justices Presbiterio Velasco Jr. and Perez, who was appointed by President Arroyo to the SC last December.

The OCA is tasked with the supervision and administration of the lower courts and their personnel. It reports and recommends to the SC all actions that affect lower court management, personal and financial administration and administrative discipline as complaints against judges and court personnel are filed with this office.

Marquez, 43, is the youngest to be appointed Court Administrator after besting eight other candidates, which include deputy court administrators, CA justices, judges and private law practitioners.

He will remain as spokesperson and PIO chief of the High Court while overseeing the administration of all lower courts in the country, according to a press statement released by his office.

Marquez — who obtained his bachelor of arts degree, major in economics in 1987 and Juris Doctor degree in 1993, both from the Ateneo de Manila University — started his career in the High Court 18 years ago.

As a law intern while completing his law studies, Marquez was then hired as a regular law clerk after completing the two-month summer internship requirement for his law degree. He then slowly rose from the ranks until he became the SC’s second spokesperson and PIO chief in 2007.