INTRODUCTION
In the past decade the world has been engulfed in a sea of change. Across the globe, monumental events have taken place, redefining the face of the world. Impenetrable walls have fallen, the cold war has thawed and democratic institutions have been restored.
The Philippines has been profoundly touched by these waves of change. It has itself undergone a rebirth quite unlike that which any nation has experienced. With the restoration of its democratic institutions and processes, its economy has grown and expanded tremendously. Opportunities for investment and business abound. Rapid economic growth is a reality.
A historian once said "He alone reads history aright, who, observing how powerfully circumstances influence the feelings and opinions of men, how often vices pass into virtues, and paradoxes into axioms, learns to distinguish what is accidental and transitory in human nature, from what is essential and immutable."[1]
Those parts of our history which are suspected to be fiction are, at least, through research and comparison, salvageable. What, however, is possibly more disturbing than the realization that, in general and throughout, our history is wrong is the realization that there are great gaps in it. We have failed to record and gather together the little human events which make up the fabric of history: it is little events, strung together and accumulated over time, which account for our place in history. What I need from my reading is to learn something, and while I shortly will come to listing the lessons of history, the principle lesson is this: that while the ages and the settings change, the actors in history are guided by the same passions of human nature: there is in all histories a similarity. As Emerson wrote in his Essays: "Nature is an endless combination and repetition of a few laws. She hums the old well-known air through innumerable variations."
It may be true that not all people have equal talents for some may top others in richness and scope but it is not in this distinction that we have thought of bringing this matter to your attention. It is purely motivated by our sincere desire to share with you a little knowledge of a vital history of an institution that identifies intricacies we encounter in our life and how it tackles them.
In this juncture, may I please provide you the details of the historical significance of the Manla Law College formerly the Escuela de Derecho de Manila. From its inception, the Manila Law College was intended to become more than just a law school; it was to become an enduring legal institution with an unwavering sense of social responsibility in its role as counsel and advocate.
In the past decade the world has been engulfed in a sea of change. Across the globe, monumental events have taken place, redefining the face of the world. Impenetrable walls have fallen, the cold war has thawed and democratic institutions have been restored.
The Philippines has been profoundly touched by these waves of change. It has itself undergone a rebirth quite unlike that which any nation has experienced. With the restoration of its democratic institutions and processes, its economy has grown and expanded tremendously. Opportunities for investment and business abound. Rapid economic growth is a reality.
A historian once said "He alone reads history aright, who, observing how powerfully circumstances influence the feelings and opinions of men, how often vices pass into virtues, and paradoxes into axioms, learns to distinguish what is accidental and transitory in human nature, from what is essential and immutable."[1]
Those parts of our history which are suspected to be fiction are, at least, through research and comparison, salvageable. What, however, is possibly more disturbing than the realization that, in general and throughout, our history is wrong is the realization that there are great gaps in it. We have failed to record and gather together the little human events which make up the fabric of history: it is little events, strung together and accumulated over time, which account for our place in history. What I need from my reading is to learn something, and while I shortly will come to listing the lessons of history, the principle lesson is this: that while the ages and the settings change, the actors in history are guided by the same passions of human nature: there is in all histories a similarity. As Emerson wrote in his Essays: "Nature is an endless combination and repetition of a few laws. She hums the old well-known air through innumerable variations."
It may be true that not all people have equal talents for some may top others in richness and scope but it is not in this distinction that we have thought of bringing this matter to your attention. It is purely motivated by our sincere desire to share with you a little knowledge of a vital history of an institution that identifies intricacies we encounter in our life and how it tackles them.
In this juncture, may I please provide you the details of the historical significance of the Manla Law College formerly the Escuela de Derecho de Manila. From its inception, the Manila Law College was intended to become more than just a law school; it was to become an enduring legal institution with an unwavering sense of social responsibility in its role as counsel and advocate.
ESCUELA DE DERECHO DE MANILA
The Law School was founded by Don Felipe Calderon, a prominent Filipino lawyer and the framer of the Malolos Constitution, at the end of the last century in 1899. It is interesting to note that a perfect syllogism will prove that the Manila Law College was enshrined in the Malolos Constitution or the first Constitution of the Philippines. The Malolos Constitution in its chapter, Title IV, Article 23, entitled “The Filipinos and Their National and Individual Rights” provides that “Any Filipino may establish and maintain institutions of learning in accordance with the laws authorizing them”. President Emilio Aguinaldo had requested Don Felipe Calderon to draft the Philippine Constitution and this is the most significant accomplishment of Delegate Calderon.
On June 28, 1988, barely five months since the Malolos Constitution was approved, Don Felipe Calderon founded the “Escuela de Derecho de Manila” with himself as the first dean. Don Felipe Calderon infused thru solemn patriotism and missionary dedication a shining model of excellence in its teaching standards. By that measure, he was succeeded through the years by such fabled intellectuals and nationalist as UP President Rafael Palma, Director Teodoro M. Kalaw, Don Quintin Paredes, foremost trial laywer who became Senate President, Speaker of the House and Secretary of Justice, Senator Emiliano Tria Tirona, Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos and in recent history, Supreme Court Justice Felix Angelo Bautista, Judge Manuel Camus, Dr. Perfecto E. Laguio and Justice Edgardo L. Paras, the late Justice of the Supreme Court. Since then up to now, celebrated and noble Filipinos have etched their personality in its impressive roster of alumni. This includes the names of immortal Filipino heroes who by their brilliant mind and talented expertise helped establish the solid foundation of the three branches of government: Judiciary, Legislative and the Executive.
Don Felipe Calderon: A brief Biography
Don Felipe G. Calderon is remembered for at least three things:
1. He was the “Father of the Malolos Constitution;
2. He founded the Escuela de Derecho de Manila in 1899; and
3. He organized the Colegio De Abogados de Manila or Bar Association in 1899.
Don Felipe G. Calderon born on April 4, 1868 in Tanza Cavite, and educated at the Ateneo de Manila in 1855 where he earned the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Thereafter, he graduated from the University of Sto. Tomas College of Law in 1893, with a degree in Licenciate in Jurisprudence. After graduation, he joined the law firm of Don Cayetano Arellano who later became the first Filipino Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Meantime, when General Emilio Aguinaldo signed a negotiated truce, the so-called the Pact of Biac-na-Bato in 1897, which in accordance with the pact, Aguinaldo and his staff agreed to voluntarily exile to Hong Kong. The Spanish authorities promised reforms within three years. In 1898, he returned to the Philippines and openly refused to recognize the transfer of sovereignty to the Americans. Don Felipe Calderon volunteered his services to the General who requested him to draft the Philippine Constitution. Don Felipe Calderon drafted the Malolos Constitution or the first Philippine Constitution. During the Malolos Congress, several drafts of the Philippine Constitution were submitted including his own and that of Apolinario Mabini. Calderon consulted the constitution of Spain, France, Belgium, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua and other Latin American countries but not the United States of America. Thus, according to Don Felipe Calderon, the United States could not be a model for the Philippines because of the difference in their history, usages and customs. This was accomplished on January 20, 1899 where he is one of the appointed delegates to the Malolos Congress, representing the Province of Palawan. General Aguinaldo signed the first fundamental law of the new Philippine Republic where he himself declared as the first President of the Republic or head of the Philippine provisional government. On June 28, 1899 or barely five months since the Malolos Constitution was approved, Don Felipe Calderon founded the “Escuela de Derecho de Manila” to train future lawyers and government officials. This is the justification for the establishment of the first Filipino Law School which was enshrined and provided for in the Malolos Constitution under Title IV, Article 23 which states that “Any Filipino may establish and maintain institutions of learning in accordance with the laws authorizing them”. Also in 1899, he formed the Colegio de Abogados de Manila or Bar Association with himself as the first President. He was appointed as member of a committee of jurists which draft the new Penal Code of the Philippines.
Don Felipe is one of the Emilio Aguinaldo’s trusted lieutenants in the Katipunan revolutionary group insurrection against American rule. Fighting broke out on February 4, 1899 where more than 125,000 American soldiers eventually went into combat in the conflict known as the Philippine-American War. Filipino troops, who used tactics of guerilla warfare, were of indeterminate numbers. However, in March 1899, Malolos fell to the United States with the capture of Aguinaldo[2] in March 1901. The organized Filipino resistance collapsed and the war ended. When Aguinaldo and the rest of his men were captured in April 1901, they took an oath of allegiance to the United States. President Emilio Aguinaldo retired as private citizen, while Don Felipe Calderon after the Philippine-American War, resumed his law practice. In 1907 he published his best work, Mis Memorias Sobre la Revolucion. He died in 1908 when he was only 45 years of age and the Escuela de Derecho de Manila had been functioning for only 9 years.
MANILA LAW COLLEGE
After 31 years of existence as the Escuela de Derecho de Manila, the school was transformed into the Manila Law College by Justice Felix Angelo Bautista. Manila Law College became the legal successor of the Escuela de Derecho de Manila the latter had assigned its rights and also its historical data to the Manila Law College.
Late Justice Felix Angelo Bautista, former Justice of the Supreme Court became the first dean of the Escuela de Derecho de Manila after retirement from the Supreme Court in 1956. Dr. Enrique C. Galang, a colonel in the Armed Forces and well known law professor, took over the Deanship until his retirement on July 1, 1990. Thereafter it was followed by Senior Justice Porfirio V. Sison of the Court of Appeals, a successful law practitioner, founder-dean, journalist, civil leader and public servant.
Under the leadership of Justice Porfirio V. Sison, the Manila Law College has continuously adopted new methods of instruction to keep abreast of the demands of modern pedagogy. This is in line with the Manila Law College vision as perceived in its mission of training its students, not only to be successful lawyers but leaders of the country as well. Under his tenure, the Manila Law College is steadily rising to regain its luster and stature that the roll of years seem to have dimmed. The faculty was revitalized with the drafting of justices, colleagues of the former Dean Sison in the Judiciary, to share with the student their wealth of wisdom and experience. The caliber and competence of Justice Edgardo Paras, Lorenzo Relova, Jorge Coguia, Onofre Villaluz, Augusto Amores, Ma. Rosario Quetulio Losa, Aniano Desierto led the pre-eminent roll of honor of the College’s faculty at that time. RTC Judges with solid years of experience in presiding the courts and all nominated to the Court of Appeals, like David Nitafan, Marino dela Cruz, Wilhelmo Fortun and veteran law practitioners like Daniel de Jesus, Rodolfo Rabaja, Pacifico Tacub, Jose Cabangon, Felipe Fragante, Vicente Macabidang, Eugene Paras, Mendrado Bello, Wilhelm Soriano, Vicente Roxas, Tomas Matic, Wenceslao Laureta and Gloria Fortun.
Justice Porfirio V. Sison has personally dedicated himself to the training and development of leaders in the country. With the high quality of instruction set by Justice Sison, it was inevitable that the Manila Law College would nurture lawyers of similar caliber.
The Manila Law College does not sleep on its laurels. Recently, President Eduardo J. Bautista appointed Dr. Benjamin B. Domingo as the new Dean of the Manila Law College effective June 1, 2005. Dr. Domingo is a retired ambassador and undersecretary of foreign affairs in the Department of Foreign Affairs; he had also served as Dean of the Lyceum of the Philippine College of Law and the Philippine Law School. On that same year, President Eduardo J. Bautista relinquishes his post as president of the School to his son, Professor Gregory Alan Bautista as the new President of the Manila Law College and Philippine College of Criminology, respectively.
Similarly Judge Eugene C. Paras, the youngest son of the late Supreme Court Justice Dr. Edgardo L. Paras - was promoted as Regional Trial Court Judge of the City of Makati. They are faculty members and alumni of the Manila Law College. Judge Eugene Paras comes from a distinguished family of judges and teaches Person and Family Relations, Commercial Law Review, Negotiable Instruments Law and Sales at the Manila Law College.
Dean Benjamin B. Domingo believes that if Ateneo Law is the leading law school for commercial law while University of the Philippines School of Law for political law, he is determined to make the Manila Law College the leader in Criminal Law School in the Philippines. The excellent strategic partnership between the Manila Law College and the Philippine College of Criminology will produce top criminal law practitioners or lawyers from the ranks of professional criminologists with the minimum of efforts due to its already well-versed in Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence and Forensic Medicine and Criminalistics.
It is within this historical perspective and educational quest that the birth of the new Phoenix had enkindled much hope and anticipation, not only to recapture her old glory but also to blaze new avenues of service to God, country and fellowmen.
Escuela de Derecho de Manila and the Manila Law College
Fortunately the first Filipino School of Law, the Escuela de Derecho de Manila had survived through the years. One of the greatest assets of the Manila Law College is its historical antecedents. Although other law schools had in the meantime been organized and proven themselves, Manila Law College remains unique and is sui generis or a class by itself. Therefore it stands to reason that Don Felipe Calderon was the first Dean of the Escuela de Derecho de Manila and by operation of law also the Manila Law College. Althought strictly, it was Justice Felix Angelo Bautista who was the first Dean of the Manila Law College thus traces its origin from the Malolos Constitution, draft by its First Dean.
THE MANILA CITY JAIL [3]
The Manila City Jail is one of the oldest institutions in the country today. Formerly known as the Bilibid Prison, it spreads across 3.24 hectares of land along Quezon Boulevard, Sta. Cruz, Manila City (known as Oroqueta, Manila during the Spanish Regime). It was established in 1847 pursuant to Section 1708 of the Revised Administrative Code and was formally opened by a Royal Decree in 1865.
The Old Bilibid Prison was constructed as a radial spike-of-a-wheel wherein the brigades were formed circularly for easy command and control. A central tower was placed at the middle of the spikes which served as a command post of the officer of the day. It was made of adobe limestone – so sturdy that until now it stands.
From 1847-1888 the Bilibid Prison was under the control of the Spaniards. The coming of the Americans in 1889 triggered the Spaniards to relinquish their jurisdiction over it. The Americans took over the Bilibid Prison and used it as detention center for their prisoners of war. In 1945, during the occupation of the Japanese Imperial Army, the Liberation of Bilibid Prison[4] by the Americans was itself prosaic and undramatic. An advance element of the regiment entered the prison and found 1200 of their fellow- citizens. The rescue was accomplished in the face of an intelligence report that the Japanese had an ammunition dump at Bilibid which they planned to blow up when the American soldiers arrived. The first foot troops entered the city in the evening as Captain Sidney Goodkin and Captain Lawrence H. Homan led their Companies F and E, respectively, down Rizal Avenue. Cheering crowds with flashlights, lanterns and burning candles broke the terrible tension of the men, a tension engendered by a grueling 150 mile march from Lingayen and those sporadic, bloody little scraps with the bewildered fragments of a withdrawing Nip army. The cheers and kisses and free drinks, and loud ‘‘Veek- torie, Joe’’, and the apparent absence of the enemy compensated for the dust, the blisters, the aches and the sunburn. The liberation of Bilibid Prison was the highlight of the first night and ensuing day.
Sometime in 1930’s a New Bilibid Prison was constructed in Muntinlupa following the agreement between the City Government of Manila and the Bureau of Prison exchanging their ownership over properties. Some Five Hundred Twenty-Five (525) hectares of land in Muntinlupa owned by the City of Manila was exchanges with the 3.24 hectares of land of the Old Bilibid Prison owned by the Bureau of Prison in Oroqueta, Manila.
In 1936, some seven thousand (7000) prisoners from the Old Bilibid Prison were transferred and initially housed in Muntinlupa penitentiary which gained recognition as the New Bilibid Prison (NBP). However, it was only in 1941 that the City Government of Manila officially took control of the Old Bilibid Prison. However, the 3.24 hectares of Old Bilibid Prison was consequently reduced to 1.2 hectares when some adjacent buildings were utilized by several government agencies. A portion of the area, just behind the perimeter wall, has been occupied by the Jose Fabella Memoral Hospital. Several offices were located inside the Old Bilibid Prison compound to include the Police Station 3, Medico-legal, Evidence Custodian, and Crime Laboratory of the Western Police District Command of Manila.
Sometime in 1980’s two brigade size buildings occupied by the WPD Evidence Custodian were burned. Buildings are now being occupied by the WPD Station 3 and the Manila City Jail personnel.
On September 27, 1992, the BJMP formally took over the administration, supervision and operational activities of the jail from the jurisdiction of the PNP by virtue of Republic Act 6975.
Through active steering in the implementation of its Manila City Jail Management program thrusts to include administrative and support services, the Manila City Jail ensures that its basic services are substantially delivered and organizational resources are wisely and transparently spent to realize its full benefits. Despite of lack of funds and shortfalls of its operating necessities, the management of Manila City Jail ascertain that its program thrusts live up to contribute to the realization of its mission. Of course, this with the support of various sectors that share in the cause of the organization which anchored its program on inmates’ welfare and development, security strengthening and enhancement of management capabilities. Recently, under the leadership of Manila City Jail Warden J/Supt. Allan S. Iral, CSEE, installed Manila City Jail bakery as part of the reformative process of offering rehabilitative programs so as to give inmates the opportunity to become self-reliant and productive – that, in preparation for the time they are reintegrated into the mainstream of society upon their release.
The Manila City Jail as of 2006 caters to an aggregate inmate population of four thousand three hundred fifty-eight (4,358) prisoners – a way off the facility’s ideal capacity of only one thousand two hundred (1,200) inmates to render it 263% congested. The detained prisoners include women and children with a recorded 946 women detainees.
The Manila Law College Legal Aid Program
The Manila Law College Legal Aid Program thru the IBP Jail Decongestion Project[5] was conceptualized and implemented out of a real concern about the overcrowding of jails in the Philippines. Premised on access to justice by the poor and the disadvantaged, jail decongestion efforts began as a thrust of the Manila Law College.
Legal aid is one of the cornerstones of a fair and decent society. It provides the means to guarantee that all citizens can enforce their rights and are held accountable for fulfilling their responsibilities; it ensures that people accused of a crime get a proper defense and safeguards vulnerable and disadvantaged people so they are not denied access to justice because of their inability to pay for it. It is one of the cornerstones of a fair and decent society.
Legal aid provides the framework within which citizens can enforce their rights and are held accountable for fulfilling their responsibilities.
In the words of former Associate Justice Artemio Panganiban[6], “[w]e are mandated by the Constitution to be biased in favor the poor, the underprivileged, and the dispossessed. This means that in case of doubt we lean in favor of labor and of the poor. Because of this provision, social justice is about giving more law to the poor”.
The Manila Law College Legal Aid Program’s mission is to keep the legal aid system at the heart of a fair and decent society. To continually drive forward reforms that make criminal trials more focus and effective where better judicial case management and a more systematic approach to the way fraud offenses are brought to justice. To develop the provision of civil and family advise and assistance, a priority being the need of vulnerable and disadvantaged people. To make the family justice system more effective, focusing on achieving the best outcomes that will create a better system for buying legal services, developing a more open and responsive market.
On November 2006, the Manila Law College thru the initiatives of Ambassador Benjamin Domingo, organized the platoon of Paralegals coming from all year level of the Manila Law College, piloting the Manila City Jail, conducted paralegal counseling to the disadvantaged and mostly poor prisoners of the Manila City Jail in Sta. Cruz, Manila. The outcome is very promising for just recently one prisoner had been released thru the efforts of the Manila Law College Paralegal Society volunteers.
Escuela de Derecho de Manila and the Bilibid Prison
History records that in 1899 a great Filipino patriot and scholar, Dr. Felipe Calderon, author of the Malolos Constitution, organized the Escuela de Derecho de Manila, now the Manila Law College under the colonial rule. While the Prison was established in 1847 also under the colonial rule, the duo remains unique and are sui generis by themselves and occupy a unique position in Philippine History – the greatest treasure ever told.
Today, the Manila Law College where the foremost issue that therefore seem to be-set is no longer on whether it is at the top in the pursuit of excellence in legal education (although enhancing it remains a primary responsibility), but more importantly in defining what is the true meaning of “being at the top” and whether it should remain at that defined pinnacle. While today, the Bilibid Prison had not changed greatly by the time the US POW’s were incarcerated there. It has hardly changed ever since. However, if modern tourism’s permit, it could be a great tourist spot for the nation to appreciate.
CONCLUSION
Centuries ago Marcus Aurelius observed in his Meditations: “Time is like a river made up of the events which happen, and a violent stream; for as soon as a thing has been seen, it is carried away, and another comes in its place, and this will be carried away too.”
Filipinos live today in a divided society, where poverty and corruption abound; the very moral and cultural moorings of our nation seem to have given way to banality, opportunism, and often for the majority of our people, the imperatives of merely surviving on a daily basis. In the midst of poverty and privation, not only in terms of financial resources but in civic and political values as well, the following questions have been asked in many a forum: By becoming a leading law school in the country, and graduating some of the best legal minds, does the Manila Law College really serve the greater need of Philippine society? By reason of their quality legal education and passion for excellence, do Manila Law College lawyers not end-up serving the causes of the rich and the multinationals who are only the ones that can afford them? Is the Manila Law College and its programs relevant to what seems to be the financial, political and moral crises that are besetting Philippine society? These to me would be the relevant issues of leadership that the Manila Law College must ask of itself. There is no doubt that the Manila Law College, in its activities and its programs, must meet these issues.
[1] (Macaulay, "Machiavelli.")
[2] Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007.
[3] RBJMP-NCR Official Publication, Volume 1, 2nd Issue 2006
[4] FRANKEL-Y SPEAKING ABOUT WORLD WAR II IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC by Stanley A. Frankel (Chapter 13- The Liberation of Manila)
[5] Publication of the IBP on the Jail Decongestion Project
[6] Finding Innovative Ways of Bringing Justice to the Poor in the Phils. (www.adb.org)
