Chief Justice Panganiban now Cebu's adopted son

The Province of Cebu, led by Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez, has conferred honor upon retired Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban as "adopted son of Cebu" during the Provincial Board's regular session yesterday morning.

In conferring the award, the PB adopted a resolution which read, "the trait and disposition of Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban depict the character of a true-blooded Cebuano, hence worthy of emulation and commendation."

It thereby makes him the third head of the highest magistrate out of the 22 chief justices of the Philippines that Cebu has produced since the establishment of the SC. The two other highly respectable Cebuano chief justices were the late Marcelo Fernan and Hilario Davide, Jr., who is recently named by President Arroyo as the permanent Philippine representative to the United Nations.

Panganiban in an interview said he "is touched" by the conferment given him as adopted son of Cebu because he is neither a politician nor the country's president considering that the two other adopted son and daughter of Cebu are both the country's top official - former President Fidel Ramos and President Arroyo.

"I'm greatly honored and humbled because I know the Cebuanos are discriminating," he told reporters after the conferment.

In his acceptance speech, Panganiban stressed his belief on the rule of law "because it is only by rule of law that democracy can survive."

It was in allusion to the highly celebrated SC ruling, that is when the High Court under his stint as chief justice denied with finality the motions for reconsideration filed by the Palace-backed Sigaw ng Bayan and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, and the Office of the Solicitor-General, just two weeks before he was due to vacate post on December 7 for mandatory retirement.

The SC then ruled in a split vote of eight to seven, with Panganiban casting the deciding vote, and thus slammed the administration's opportunity to amend the 1987 Constitution by people's initiative because the manner by which the signatures for the people's initiative was gathered was a "gigantic fraud" and "grand deception."

Nevertheless, the SC ruling reversed its 1997 findings in the Santiago vs. Comelec case that RA 6735 or the Initiative Referendum Act is "incomplete, inadequate or wanting in essential terms and conditions insofar as initiative on amendments of the Constitution is concerned", and thus in effect ruled that RA 6735 is sufficient to amend the Constitution through a people's initiative.

Asked if he did not have had had any reservation in making that crucial decision considering that he was a presidential appointee and the signature campaign to support a people's initiative was a Palace-backed move, Panganiban said he perceived it rather as a "tribute to the President" that her appointees do their mandate no matter it costs.

Clearly, Panganiban's decision was in line with his endeavor to reform the judiciary in order to attain a transparent, accountable and dignified judicial department by piloting the four INS program, which stands for integrity, independence, industry and intelligence, as pointed out in the PB resolution.

Panganiban was also honored for his immediate response to the request of the provincial government to commence the construction of an edifice that now houses the Court of Appeals in Cebu and which stands in a 2,011-square-meter donated property of the province, despite his forthcoming retirement from service on December 7, 2006.

Born on December 7, 1936 to a poor family in Manila, Panganiban rose from the ranks and subsequently became the most prolific writer of decisions at the SC.

Garcia, in her privilege speech, said Panganiban represents the Cebuano creativity and ingenuity at coming out with decisions characterized by a distinct facility of language and clarity of thought and that he also represents the Cebuano's independent spirit in crucial decisions bearing on important issues. - Cristina C. Birondo/MEEV