Hon. Jose Catral Mendoza JBC Regular Member representing the Retired SC Justices and JBC Executive Committee Chairperson

A native of Lipa City, Justice Jose Catral Mendoza was born on August 13, 1947 to Col. Ibarra S. Mendoza, a retired PAF officer, and Teresa Catral Mendoza, a mother engaged in poultry-raising. He is the eldest of their eight children. Of his seven siblings, two are priests, two are retired Philippine Air Force generals, one a retired Philippine Airlines pilot, one a former parish assistant, and the only female, an active member of the Focolare Movement, an international religious organization.

A Bachelor of Arts (A.B. Political Science) degree holder from the University of the Philippines, in 1967, he enrolled in the San Beda College of law. He completed the law course in 1971 and passed the bar the following year. He is married to the former Livia Rojas of Tacloban City. They have a son, Barleon Rojas Mendoza, married to Gracielle Tejada of San Juan, Batangas.

After passing the 1971 Bar Examinations, he engaged in private practice and served as a legal officer of the Philippine Banking Corporation, the Manila Electric Co., and the Gokongwei Group of Companies. Before joining the Judiciary as Court Attorney in the Court of Appeals in 1977, he also served as Senior Consular Investigator in the United States Embassy.

After three years, he re-entered the private sector and worked as an Associate of the Alampay Alvero Alampay Law Office. Thereafter, he joined the Judiciary, but this time in the Supreme Court in 1985, first in the Office of Justice Nestor B. Alampay and later, in that of Justice Abdulwahid A. Bidin.

In 1989, Justice Mendoza became a member of the Bench when he was appointed Presiding Judge of Branch 26, RTC, Sta. Cruz, Laguna. In 1992, he was designated as Executive Judge of that station.

After almost five years in the province, in 1994, he was transferred as the Presiding Judge of Branch 219, RTC, Quezon City, which was designated as a special court for heinous crimes. For his fair handling of the sensational cases assigned to him, he was nominated by the IBP, Quezon City, for the Judicial Excellence Award. The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and the Crusade Against Violence (CAV) recognized and commended him on how he was dispensing justice. In 2002, the VACC bestowed on him the Outstanding Judge Award. In 2003, he was appointed as the RTC Quezon City’s Executive Judge.

In January of 2010, he was appointed as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. He served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court for more than 7 years. Months after his retirement as Supreme Court Associate Justice, he was appointed as Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) Regular Member representing the Retired Supreme Court Justices. He is currently the JBC Executive Committee Chairperson.