MANILA (UPDATED) – President Rodrigo Duterte has named his first appointee to the Supreme Court.

Duterte picked Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Samuel Martires as SC associate justice.

Martires will take the spot vacated by retired Associate Justice Jose Perez, who left his post on December 14, 2016.

JUST IN. SB AJ Samuel Martires appointed as the SC’s 175th Associate Justice and its newest member. (Statement of the Court attached). pic.twitter.com/o7E9UaNuy8

— Supreme Court PIO (@SCPh_PIO) March 6, 2017

In a statement, Martires said his appointment to the High Court has yet to sink in.

"Yung pagiging justice ko hindi nagsi-sink in pa sa akin yan e, kahit naman ngayon hindi nagsi-sink in sa akin. I thank the Lord for the blessing he has showered me, I just hope He will continue to bless me," he said.

"I've been in lots of pressures, I just hope that Lord will guide me, I hope the Lord will give me the strength and health I need, a sound mind and body to help me in my work sa Supreme Court," he added.

Martires was appointed as Sandiganbayan associate justice by former president and now House Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

In 2013, Martires penned the decision upholding a controversial plea bargaining agreement between the Office of the Ombudsman and former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia.

The plea bargain deal reduced Garcia's cases to direct bribery and facilitating money laundering; he admitted guilt to the lesser offenses and surrendered to the state P150 million in cash, real estate properties, and motor vehicles.

Martires was also the ponente in the decision dismissing a P50-billion damage suit filed 24 years ago by the Philippine government against the Marcoses, former Trade Minister Roberto Ongpin and several others in relation to the so-called Binondo Central Bank (BCB) during martial law.

• READ: Sandiganbayan junks P50B damage suit vs Marcoses, Ongpin

During his Judicial and Bar Council interview, Martires maintained his independence from the chief executive, downplaying his reported visit to President Duterte in August 2016.