Debating Team to Australia that won the Wilmot Cup. He capped his many achievements by placing 12th in the 1966 Bar Examinations. His writing stint started at the M. L. Quezon University where he edited The Quezonian and where he graduated magna cum laude, A.B. Journalism.

He practiced law for almost 15 years, and then served in government posts for over 21 years. Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court in 1998, he was Secretary of Labor and Employment. Before that, he served as Undersecretary of the Department of National Defense during President Corazon C. Aquino's administration and then Senior Deputy Executive Secretary to President Fidel V. Ramos. Before his present appointment, he also held the rank of Commodore of the Philippine Coast Guard, 106th Auxiliary Squadron.

Justice Quisumbing had special training in Management of Public Agencies at Cornell Graduate School; Research at Georgetown University; Communications at Michigan State University; and Public Sector Negotiations at Harvard University.  While serving as a trade union officer, he attended international law and labor conferences in Geneva, Moscow, Beijing and Jakarta.

His published works include: Constitutional Control of the Election Process; Compensation in Land Reform Cases, Comparative Public Law Study; Asean Comparative Law (Vol. IV ed., Corporation Law) in the EEC and Asean, Two Regional Experiences; Law on Taxation in the Philippines; Labor Law and Jurisprudence (1992-1998); and Access to Justice, a lecture delivered before the 1993 Asean Law Association Conference in Singapore.

A native of Masbate, Masbate, Justice Quisumbing is married to Dr. Purificacion V. Quisumbing. They have two children: Josefa and Cecilia.