Where Justice Azcuna stands

I have always admired former Supreme Court Justice Adolf Azcuna for his brilliance and integrity. Recently, I saw a picture of him joining the Monday morning flag ceremony of the Supreme Court which had turned into an anti-Sereno rally. I decided to ask him if his presence at the flag ceremony meant he had taken a stand on the current Sereno controversy.  Here is his reply:

“Yes, my stand is that same stand I stand in every Monday during our regular flag ceremony. If others make a rally out of that mandatory flag ceremony,  that’s their business. You guys in media have the responsibility to find out that the occasion is a regular mandatory Monday morning flag ceremony which all Supreme Court personnel must attend  but is now being used for a “rally” by others.

“I stand for that flag that is being raised and for that pledge of allegiance we take after raising it and the commitment simply to do justice and live in the presence of my God.  The passing disputes and human differences around me will be resolved hopefully with due process of law. In the ringing words of Justice JBL Reyes –‘No master but law, no guide but conscience, no aim but justice.’ That is my stand.”

I share Justice Azcuna’s hope that in the end, the rule of law will prevail.

Retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Adolfo S. Azcuna is currently chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy. He retired from the Supreme Court on Feb. 16, 2009 and was appointed PJA chancellor on June 1, 2009. He is best remembered for his introduction of the writ of amparo, “a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty and security is violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity.”

Then Chief Justice Reynato Puno said in his opening remarks at the lecture forum on the Writ of Amparo (a word that means “protection”) before RTC judges in 2007: “In 1987, Justice Adolf Azcuna, then one of the commissioners tasked by President Corazon Aquino to draft the 1987 Constitution, embedded in its backbone a provision giving the Supreme Court the extra power to promulgate rules which would give life to the writ of amparo to protect the constitutional rights of our people. Through his initiative, the rule-making power of the Supreme Court was expanded to complement the awesome power of Congress to make laws. Historically, it is the parliament that protects the rights of people through its lawmaking power. Justice Azcuna allowed the Supreme Court to have a share in the exercise of this power by expanding its rule-making power.”

After graduating from the Ateneo de Manila in 1959 for his Bachelor of Arts degree with academic honors and the degree of Bachelor of Laws, cum laude in 1962, he was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1963, placing 4th in the 1962 bar examinations.  He embarked on a government career as assistant private secretary of then Presiding Justice Jose Bengzon of the Court of Appeals in 1963 and, thereafter, upon the appointment of the latter to the Supreme Court in 1964, as his private secretary.

He  taught International Law at the Ateneo de Manila, from 1967 to 1986. In 1982, he completed post-graduate studies in International Law and Jurisprudence at the McGeorge School of Law in Salzburg, Austria.

Representing Zamboanga Del Norte where he was born to Felipe Azcuna and Carmen Sevilla, he was elected member of the 1971 Constitutional Convention. Subsequently, he was appointed as a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission. He held several government posts during the term of President Corazon Aquino as presidential legal counsel, then as press secretary and subsequently as presidential spokesperson.  In 1991, he was appointed chairperson of the Philippine National Bank. On Oct. 17, 2002, he was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Justice Azcuna has been recognized many times in his legal profession and one of the awards he especially values comes from his alma mater, the Ateneo de Manila University. During its 2016 Traditional University Awards he was conferred the highest award, the Lux-in-Domino Award. The Lux-in-Domino Award is “a capstone award that requires the crowning achievement of both life and work, given to an extraordinary individual who has incarnated in life, and perhaps even in death, in an outstanding and exemplary manner, the noblest ideals of the Ateneo de Manila University.”  His citation read,  “For living as a selfless public servant who puts  country before self and as a man of deep faith whose devotion to his family is unchanging; for devoting more than 50 years of his life to judicial work, driven by a commitment to the delivery of justice; for ensuring the protection of every Filipino’s constitutional right to life, liberty, and security through the writ of amparo; for lighting a path of excellence, service, and probity that young Filipinos and Ateneans may follow.” 

I am sharing a brief profile of Justice Adolf Azcuna with my readers to explain why I have such faith in his credibility and judgment.

Summer creative writing classes and workshop for kids and teens

Young Writers’ Hangout on March 17, April 7, 14, 21 and 28, May 12, 19 and 26 (1:30 pm-3 pm; independent sessions); Wonder of Words Workshop on May 7, 9, 11, 14, 16 and 18 (1:30-3:30 pm for 8-12 years old/ 4-6 pm for 13-17 years old) at Fully Booked BGC.  For details and registration contact 0945-2273216 or [email protected].

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