Two Chief Justices visit Silliman

Chief Justices Panganiban (left) and Puno (right)

            For the first time in Silliman history, two Supreme Court Chief Justices of the Republic of the Philippines successively visited the University within one-year period which was made possible by the Dr. Jovito R. Salonga Center for Law and Development.

            Former Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban, who retired from his post on December 6, 2006, was personally invited by Dr. Jovito R. Salonga as the guest lecturer during the inauguration of the Salonga Law Center last September 16, 2006 at the Luce Auditorium, Silliman University, Dumaguete City.
 
            According to Panganiban, it is a rare privilege to be distinctively chosen by the honoree, Dr. Jovito R. Salonga, who has served as his lifetime mentor.

            Panganiban started as an Associate Lawyer and apprentice of Dr. Jovito R. Salonga at the Salonga, Ordoñez and Associates Law Office from 1961 to 1963. He was also the Chief legal counsel of the Liberal Party from 1987 to 1991. In 1963, he formed his own law firm (Panganiban, Benitez, Parlade, Africa and Barinaga Law Offices), which he headed until he joined the Supreme Court in 1995.
 
            “I feel privileged to be here today in this great institution of learining to deliver the first inaugural lecture for the Dr. Jovito R. Salonga Center for Law and Development. By deciding to pioneer in ‘transformative law’ – which means harnessing the law to transform society and to improve the lives of the people – the Center institutionalizes Dr. Salonga’s deep-seated compassion for the poor and the downtrodden,” Panganiban said.
  
            “Hence, I have opted for [a topic] that is very close to my heart and yours, and that embodies the enduring advocacy and legacy of Dr. Jovtio R. Salonga: acces to justice by and for the poor,” he added.

Chief Justice Panganiban (2006)

            He started his lecture with a definition of “access to justice” based on United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as “the ability of people to seek and obtain a remedy through formal or informal institutions of justice, and in conformity with human rights standards.”

            “Realizing the various facets of the problem of limited access to justice [in the Philippines], I pledged to revitalize the Supreme Court’s ongoing Action Program for Judicial Reform (APJR) with special focus on what I call the four ACID problems that corrode justice in our country; namely, (1) limited access to justice by the poor; (2) corruption; (3) incompetence; and (4) delay in the delivery of quality judgments,” Panganiban stressed.

            “At the same time, I immediately vowed to lead a judiciary characterized by four Ins: independence, integrity and intelligence; one that would be morally courageous to stand its ground against the onslaughts of influence of influence, interference, indifference and insolence; and that is impervious to the plague of “ships” – kinship, relationship, friendship, and fellowship,” he added.

            For that matter, Panganiban said that the ACID reforms and the four Ins must lead to the attainment of two loftier end goals: (1) safeguarding the liberty and (2) nurturing the prosperity of the people.

            Meanwhile, the 22nd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Reynato S. Puno accepted the Salonga Center’s invitation, spearheaded by its Director Mikhail Lee L. Maxino, to be the guest speaker during the Silliman University Convocation and Presentation of the 2007 Outstanding Silliman University Law Alumni Association (SULAW) Award to Prof. Rolando V. del Carmen and 19th SULAW General Assembly and Alumni Homecoming on August 25, 2007. The Chief Justice, on the same occasion, was likewise conferred an Honorary Membership in the SULAW.

             “Lando [Dr. Del Carmen] is a good friend whose footsteps I have followed. When he attended the Southern Methodist University Law School of Dallas, Texas, to take up the Master of Comparative Law degree in 1964, I followed him a year after; when he enrolled at the University of California Law School, Berkeley, California, to pursue the Master of Law degree in 1965, I did the same the following year; when he went to the University of Illinois Law School at Champagne, Urbana, to get the Doctor of Juridical Science degree in 1966, I followed him the following year,” Puno said.

            “Dr. Carmen is a legal scholar worthy of note in the United States. His book on Criminal Procedure is a bestseller in the United States with a long shelf life. It is now in its 8th edition, and I always consult it to find the latest wrinkle in American jurisprudence on criminal procedure,” he added.

Chief Justice Puno (2007)

            During his speech, Puno discussed The Evolution of Generations of Human Rights; The Internationalization of Human Rights; The Constitutionalization of International Human Rights; Judicial Protection of Human Rights in which he emphasized the special writs that seek to protect constitutional rights and to prevent their violation: (1) the writ of habeas corpus, (2) the writ of amparo, and (3) the writ of habeas data; and The Philippine Situation.

            The following day, Chief Justice Puno was also the Guest Preacher on the occasion of the 106th Founders Day Sunday, 13th Sunday after the Pentecost at the Silliman University Church, Dumaguete City.
 
            With the Founders Day theme “Descending to Greatness”, Puno delivered a message on servant leadership where he elaborated certain preliminary considerations before one can be a servant leader. 

            According to Puno, a leaderrefers to everybody for, according to Webster, a leader is one who guides and directs who directs. 

            “On the basis of this definition, we are all leaders; for whatever is our station in life, there will always be a time, an occasion when we have to guide or direct somebody else,” he said.  

            “We are all leaders, but I like to submit further that our places of leadership, [and] our roles in life, have been assigned by God.  God has a divine purpose for each of us, a divine purpose which fits His overall plan for humanity,” he added. 

            The Chief Justice also stressed that the call for leadership is a call from God. He said that “A call from God is different from other calls if only for the reason that it is and will always be a correct call; otherwise, we will have a God who is not all-knowing – and a God who can be wrong is no God at all.”

            Puno also illustrated the life of two kings: the first is King Herod, who reigned over Judea from 37 to 4 B.C.; and the other kind of leader, the other type of leadership exemplified by Jesus Christ.

            “Their styles of leadership were in contrast.  King Herod’s idea of leadership was ascending the ladder of power to rule and staying there for good.  Jesus’ concept of leadership was descending from the top to the bottom of society, not to rule but to serve which is a descent from kingship to servanthood,” he said.

            He quoted Rev. Bill Hybells’ account on the ends of these two leaders that “Herod with all his wealth, high position and possession, ended in ruin. In the final year of his life, his body was infected with disease; his pain was so bad that in the middle of the night, his screams would be heard in the palace. He died alone, despised in history.”

            Puno further quoted, “By yielding His power, Jesus proved His trust in God’s plan. God said the downward path would lead to fulfillment and life and Jesus believed Him. For Jesus the end was not the end; He became the most celebrated man in history.”

            “God needs leaders – not leaders of any kind, but servant leaders,” the Chief Justice concluded.(By Christy Ann Marie R. Cong )