Testimonial for Hon Artemio V. Panganiban, Chief Justice of the Philippines (Manila, 22 Apr 2006)

LEGACY AND LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHIEF JUSTICE PANGANIBAN

Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban assumed office as a member of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on 10 October 1995 at the age of 58. In 2006, he was appointed the 21st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Aside from heading the Supreme Court and the entire Philippine Judiciary, Chief Justice Panganiban is also the concurrent chairperson of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) and the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).

Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, he was an active law practitioner, business entrepreneur, civic worker and Catholic lay leader.

Beginnings
The youngest of four children, Chief Justice Panganiban was born to impoverished parents and was orphaned while he was still in school. To support his studies, he hawked newspapers, peddled cigarettes and shined shoes in the streets of Sampaloc in Manila. During his school days, he sold textbooks to his classmates and bibles to his professors and university officials. He graduated with honours from public schools: Juan Luna Elementary School and Mapa High School.

Family
He is married to Elenita Carpio-Panganiban, former professor and associate dean at the Asian Institute of Management. They have five children, Maria Elena, Jose Artemio III, Maria Jocelyn, Maria Theresa, Maria Evelyn, all of whom are accomplished in their respective careers.

Popular Youth Leader
During his student days, he organized the largest student organization in the country: the National Union of Students of Philippines. A popular youth leader, he was also president of the FEU Central Student Organisation, FEU Student Catholic Action, as well as the “most illustrious knight” of the Kappa Gamma Phi fraternity of university scholars.

Education
He completed his Bachelor of Laws cum laude and “Most Outstanding Student” in 1960, and his Associate in Arts “With Highest Honours” in 1956, both from Far Eastern University (FEU). On 21 March 1997, the University of Iloilo conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa).

Civic Leader
Since his graduation from college, he has been an indefatigable civic leader and benefactor of the poor, the oppressed and the sick. In 1990-1991, he was president of the Rotary Club of Manila (RCM), the first and largest rotary club in Asia. He was also president or major officer of several humanitarian, charitable and civic groups.

Catholic Lay Leader
In 1996, he was appointed by Pope John Paul II as a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity (PCL) for a five-year term. He is the only Filipino in this international council of thirty members who advise the Holy Father on “all matters involving the Christian life of the faithful”. PCL is the highest lay group in the Roman Catholic Church worldwide. Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, he was national vice chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), secretary of the Council of the Laity of the Philippines and a servant-leader of the Bukas Loob sa Diyos Covenant Community. He was also a lay delegate to the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II) held in January-February 1991. PCP II is the Church equivalent of a constitutional convention.

Business Leader
Prior to his appointment to judicial office, he was also active as a business entrepreneur. He was involved in real estate, investments, travel and transportation. In 1991-1992, he was president of the Philippines Daily Inquirer. He was also vice president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), international chairman of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) with the distinction of being the first Asian to head ASTA International, the largest travel association in the world. He was also president of the Tourism Organisation of the Philippines for ten years and governor of the Management Association of the Philippines for four years. He was a director in several corporations including a commercial bank, a woodwork factory, and a garment manufacturer.

Law Practitioner
He placed sixth in the 1960 bar exams and since then has been practising law continuously. From 1961-1963, he was an associate in the Salonga, Ordonez and Associates Law Office. In 1963, he founded the Panganiban, Benitez, Pariade, Africa and Barinaga Law Offices (PABLAW). At home in private international law, commercial law and political law, he acted as counsel for many of the top 1,000 corporations in the country as well as for ranking political leaders like cabinet members, senators, congressmen and governors. He was also general counsel of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), chief legal counsel of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), Manila Archdiocesan and Parochial Schools Association (MAPSA) and the Liberal Party (LP). He chaired the Multi-Sectoral Conference on the Administration of Justice which was convened on 13 June 1992 and on 17 October 1992 to develop a programme for the first 1,000 days of President Fidel V. Ramos. For ten years (1961-1970), he was a professor of law and political science at Far Eastern University, Assumption Convent and San Sebastian College. He headed the FEU Law Faculty Club as well as the FEU Law Alumni Association.

Books
A prolific writer, Chief Justice Panganiban has in the past ten years penned more than 1,100 full-length decisions and ten books plus several thousand minute resolutions disposing of controversies. As a way of reporting on his magistracy, he writes one book a year. As of November 2005, he has authored the following: Love God Serve Man (1994); Justice and Faith (1997); Battles in the Supreme Court (1998), Leadership by Example (1999); Transparency, Unanimity & Diversity (2000); A Centenary of Justice (2001); Reforming the Judiciary (2002); the Bio Age Dawns on the Judiciary (2003); Leveling the Playing Field (2004); and Judicial Renaissance (2005).

Awards
He is the recipient of over 200 awards and citations, including honorary doctoral degrees. He has been conferred honorary memberships in the Phi Kappa Phi International Honor Society (University of the Philippines Chapter) and the Consular Corps of the Philipipines.

ALA Member
A believer of establishing cooperation among lawyers in the ASEAN region, Chief Justice Panganiban is a distinguished member of the ASEAN Law Association and is a founding member of the ALA Golfers Club. He was part of the Philippine Working Committee during the First General Assembly of ALA held in Manila in 1980. The success story of ALA is made possible by the serious commitment of its leaders and members led by Chief Justice Panganiban.