Chief Justice Pedro Yap

Aside from Chief Justices Fernan and Davide, another Cebuano, though born in San Isidro, Leyte became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. His name was Pedro Yap.

Pedro, nicknamed Pedring, was born on July 1, 1918. He finished his elementary at the San Isidro Elementary School in the municipality of San Isidro, province of Leyte. He went to Cebu and finished his high school at the Cebu Provincial High School now known as the Abellana National School.

He earned his degree in Associate in Arts (magna cum laude) in the Cebu Junior College now known as the University of the Philippine Cebu Campus. He finished his Bachelor of Laws at the University of the Philippines and topped the Bar Examinations in 1946 with a score of 91.7%.

He obtained his Master of Laws at the New York University and Doctor of Judicial Science. It was when he was in the United States that he joined the United Nations as Senior Human Rights Officer. Upon his return in the Philippines, he became partner of the law offices, Salonga, Ordonez, Yap Associates and Law Office.

He taught in the law schools in Cebu City, with the University of San Carlos and became Dean of the College of Law of the Colegio San Jose de Recoletos now the University of San Jose Recoletos.

Pedro, was elected as delegate of the 1971 Constitutional Convention representing the old second district of Cebu. Like Chief Justice Fernan (who also became a dean of the CSJR/USJR) he did not sign the 1973 Constitution.

He was appointed by President Corazon C. Aquino as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on April 8, 1986 and served the position until April 18, 1988. On April 19, 1988 he was appointed by President Aquino as Chief Justice of the Supreme until his retirement on July 1, 1988.

He was a member of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) in 1986 during the leadership of Jovito Salonga, his law partner who later became Senate President.

Pedro married Flora del Rosario and they had the following children Emmanuel, Janette, Pedro Jr., and Steve. Chief Justice Yap died on November 20, 2003.

The famous phrase written by CJ Yap is often quoted in decisions of the Supreme Court. He wrote:

"It is a general rule common to all civilized systems of jurisprudence that the solemn and deliberate sentence of the law, pronounced by its appointed organs, upon a disputed fact or a state of facts, should be regarded as final and conclusive determination of the question litigated, and should forever set the controversy at rest…" (Legarda vs. Savellano, February 26, 1988)