After qualifying as a lawyer, he worked as a legal officer for the
Department of Public Works, Transportation and Communication until 1979. He then became an assistant department manager at the
Ministry of Human Settlements until 1984. Martires was also involved in some small business ventures. After the
1986 People Power Revolution, he received an offer to become a judge, which he declined, citing the low salary and their ill reputation of being corrupt. His mother, however, wanted him to join the judiciary. Martires enrolled in the
Master of Laws program of the
University of Santo Tomas but only earned 27 units.
Supreme Court of the Philippines President
Rodrigo Duterte appointed him as associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on March 2, 2017. Prior to his appointment, he had served as associate justice of the
Sandiganbayan from 2005 to 2017. On May 11, 2018, Martires was one of the eight justices who voted in favor of the
quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida against then-Chief Justice
Maria Lourdes Sereno. In his
Supreme Court decision acquitting two men of rape in 2018 (concurred by Associate Justices
Presbitero Velasco Jr.,
Lucas Bersamin,
Marvic Leonen, and
Alexander Gesmundo), Martires rejected the application of the decades-long
María Clara doctrine in trial courts' decision of rape cases, saying that it "borders on the fallacy of
non-sequitur" and that doing so would put the accused "at an unfair disadvantage" and bring forth a "travesty of justice". Martires argued that the doctrine has become obsolete, as women over the years have become less reluctant to disclose sexual abuse committed against them.
Ombudsman of the Philippines On July 26, 2018, he was appointed as the 6th
Ombudsman by President
Rodrigo Duterte, replacing then-outgoing Ombudsman
Conchita Carpio-Morales. The Supreme Court then approved his early retirement. He was then sworn into office on August 6. In July 2019, media outlets reported that Martires'
Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) reflected an increase of within the first five months of his tenure as ombudsman. In the same month, Martires granted Senator
Joel Villanueva's motion for reconsideration under a previous Ombudsman 2016 decision by his predecessor
Conchita Carpio Morales which ordered Villanueva be removed from office over Villanueva's alleged misuse of of his
Priority Development Assistance Fund allocation in 2008 and perpetually disqualified the lawmaker from office. This decision only became known to the wider public in October 2025. In September 2020, Martires issued a memorandum circular regarding the releasing of copies of the SALN of public officials. The said guidelines were criticized for adding more restrictions on who can acquire copies of the documents. Under the new guidelines, the people who can request copies of SALNs are the public officials who filed them or their representatives, a court as part of a case, and the Ombudsman's field investigators. The public, especially the media, were now required to present a notarized letter from the public official whose SALN they intend to see. The memorandum cited "The Code of Conduct for Public Officials" (Republic Act No. 6713), however, the aforementioned law allows journalists to obtain copies of officials' SALNs and report on them. He announced that his office will stop conducting lifestyle checks on public officials, reasoning that having a luxurious lifestyle does not prove that an official is corrupt. He also criticized lifestyle checks as "illogical" and "purely" based on estimates. He also claimed that the SALNs and lifestyle checks are used by the media and political rivals to "extort" government officials. Martires has suggested that the Office of the Ombudsman should be abolished, citing the lack of witnesses and their refusal to testify or file affidavits makes investigations more difficult and thus renders the office unnecessary. His predecessor Conchita Carpio-Morales criticized his proposal, arguing that it will "open floodgates to the commission of more corrupt activities." Also, under Martires Office of the Ombudsman's rate of conviction in its court cases declined from 61.2 percent in 2020 to 26.5 percent in 2022. During the 2026 House of Representatives justice committee impeachment hearing against Vice President Sara Duterte, self-confessed "bagman" Ramil Madriaga said that he personally collected ₱175 million from the head of
Pharmally and delivered part of it to the Office of the Ombudsman, then headed by Martires. == References ==