Enrique Fernando
Ferdinand E. Marcos | |
---|---|
Preceded by | José Maria Paredes |
Succeeded by | Venicio Escolin |
Personal details | |
Born | Enrique Medina Fernando July 25, 1915 Malate, Manila, Philippine Islands |
Died | October 13, 2004 Manila, Philippines | (aged 89)
Spouse | Emma Quisumbing-Fernando |
Enrique Medina Fernando (July 25, 1915 – October 13, 2004) was the 13th
Early career
Fernando was born in Malate, Manila. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of the Philippines College of Law, graduating magna cum laude in 1938.[1] He was a member of the Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity.[2]
Shortly after admission to the bar, he joined the faculty of his alma mater, where he taught as a full-time member of the faculty until 1953, and as a professorial lecturer for decades afterwards. He was eventually appointed as the
In 1947, he was admitted by the
Fernando was appointed as a Code Commissioner in 1953 and served in that capacity until 1964. In the 1950s, he served as a Presidential adviser to Presidents Ramon Magsaysay and Carlos P. Garcia. He likewise engaged in an extensive private practice prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court. Among his law partners was Senator Lorenzo Tañada, with whom he would co-author a popular hornbook on constitutional law. In his lifetime, Fernando would author several books on constitutional and administrative law.[5]
Supreme Court years
In 1966, Fernando was appointed as Presidential Legal Counsel by Ferdinand Marcos. The following year, Marcos appointed him to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
If not for the death of Chief Justice
Jurisprudence
At the time of his appointment to the Court, Fernando was already recognized as one of the country's leading authorities on constitutional law, and as an ardent
In Morfe v. Mutuc,
Fernando was also a persistent proponent of the clear and present danger test as the only acceptable limitation on the right to free expression, as expressed in his ponencia in Gonzales v. COMELEC, 137 Phil. 471 (1969), and his dissent in Badoy v. Ferrer, 35 SCRA 285 (1970).
Controversies
Along with
In March 1982, Associate Justice Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera resigned as chair of the court's examination committee after revealing that the mercantile law grades of Associate Justice Vicente Ericta's son Gustavo, who took the 1981 Philippine Bar Examinations, was changed from 56 to 58 percent prior to publication of the test results to enable him to pass with a general average of 73 and become a fully-pledged lawyer. Fernando subsequently admitted ordering the revision in the younger Ericta's grade but denied allegations of unethical behavior, saying that it was done to correct an "oversight" by the examiner upon the advice of justices Ramon Aquino and Ramon Fernandez, who were prematurely shown Ericta's grades, and citing a similar predicament with one of his sons, who died shortly after passing the bar exam.[10][11]
Following public uproar and demands for their impeachment,[12] all 14 members of the Supreme Court, including six justices who were not directly involved in the grade tampering, submitted their resignation to President Marcos on May 11.[13][14] All of them were subsequently reappointed days later by Marcos, except for Ericta and Fernandez, who were both "found responsible" for the scandal by a group of former justices advising the president.[15]
Shortly after the murder of opposition leader
Later years
Fernando's lengthy service in the Court ended in 1985, when he reached the compulsory retirement age of 70. Marcos would be toppled from power the following year, and Fernando's most prominent rival Teehankee would be named Chief Justice by Corazon Aquino.
Fernando remained in active practice until shortly before his death at the age 89 in 2004. His expertise as amicus curiae was sought by the Court in the controversial case of Manila Prince Hotel v. GSIS, 267 SCRA 408 (1997).[16]
Fernando is buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
Bibliography
Selected books
- Brief Survey of Administrative Law Including Public Officers and Election Law (with Emma Quisumbing Fernando, 1950)
- Constitution of the Philippines (with Lorenzo Tañada, 1952–1953)
- Law of Public Administration (with Emma Quisumbing Fernando, 1954)
- Labor and Social Legislation (with Gil R. Carlos, 1964)
- The Power of Judicial Review (1968)
- Bill of Rights (1970)
- Jose P. Laurel on the Constitution (1972)
- Bill of Rights and the Revised Constitution (1973)
- American Constitutional Influence in Asia: Its Impact on the Philippine Legal System (1976)
- Perspectives on Human Rights: the Philippines in a Period of Crisis and Transition (1979)
- Cases on the Bill of Rights (1981)
- Cases and Text in Constitutional Law (1984)
- Separation of Powers: The Three Departments of the Philippine Government (1985)
Notes
- ^ a b Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Vol. III, p. 27.
- ^ Matoto, Bing (2018-10-23). "The gathered lights of Upsilon Sigma Phi". Daily Tribune. Archived from the original on 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
- ^ Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Vol. III, p. 28.
- ^ Isagani Cruz. "Separate Opinion:Chief Justice Enrique M. Fernando". Retrieved 2007-10-22.
- ^ "Supreme Court E-Library Memorabilia Room - Chief Justice Enrique M. Fernando". Retrieved 2007-10-22.
- ^ a b Res Gestae, p. 188.
- ^ "Morfe v. Mutuc". Retrieved 2007-10-22.
- ^ Res Gestae, p. 187.
- ^ Res Gestae, p. 189-190.
- ^ del Mundo, Fernando (19 April 1982). "Scandal rocks Philippines high court". UPI. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ del Mundo, Fernando (6 May 1982). "Supreme Court justices resign in scandal". UPI. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "AROUND THE WORLD; 12 Philippine Justices Resign in Scandal". The New York Times. 7 May 1982. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "What Went Before: 1982 Ericta case". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 23 March 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "AROUND THE WORLD; Scandal Has Emptied Philippine High Court". The New York Times. 11 May 1982. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "AROUND THE WORLD; Marcos Swears In A New Supreme Court". The New York Times. 11 May 1982. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "Manila Prince Hotel v. GSIS". Archived from the original on 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
References
- Sevilla, Victor J. (1986). Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Vol. III. Quezon City, Philippines: New Day Publishers. pp. 27–29. ISBN 971-10-0138-1.
- Cruz, Isagani; Cynthia Cruz Datu (2000). Res Gestae: A Brief History of the Supreme Court from Arellano to Narvasa. Manila, Philippines: Rex Book Store. pp. 170–172, 187–190, 195. ISBN 971-23-2913-5.