The Fraternitas Scintilla Legis, otherwise known as Scintilla Legis, or simply FSL, is a law school-based fraternity in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The name of the fraternity is derived from the Latin words ''scintilla'' which means ''spark'', and ''legis'' which means ''law.'' It was founded in 1974 by seven students at the College of Law of

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 stud ...

Cagayan de Oro City Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region, covering ...

."Scintilla Legis members call on Lobregat"
The PhilSouth Angle. Retrieved 2014-03-21. In 1980, a chapter was established in

Silliman University Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private university, private Research institute, research university in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, the Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyte ...

and for many years, the two chapters co-existed. In 1996, a group of FSL alumni from Silliman University established a third chapter in

Western Mindanao State University }) is a state university located in Zamboanga City, Philippines. It has two campuses: the main campus of 79,000 square metres and 9,147 square metres in the city proper, and the satellite campus of 200,000 square metres in San Ramon about 20 ...

. In 2005 a chapter was established in

Liceo de Cagayan University The Liceo de Cagayan University (LDCU) is a private non-sectarian basic and higher education institution in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines. It was founded in 1955 by Rodolfo N. Pelaez of Cagayan de Oro and his wife Elsa P. Pelaez of Cebu City. His ...

and in 2007 another chapter also followed in

Bukidnon State University Bukidnon State University, abbreviated as BSU and colloquially referred to as BukSU) is a provincial state university in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, Philippines. Formerly named Bukidnon State College, it became a university in 2007. The other uni ...

. At present, the fraternity is composed of five chapters, four in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of t ...

and one in the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands ( Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, i ...

. They meet annually in a national convention. Since its founding, members of the fraternity have gone through different areas in the practice of law and the three branches of the government, some becoming judges in the trial courts and the

Court of Appeals of the Philippines The Court of Appeals ( fil, Hukuman ng Pag-aapela) is an appellate collegiate court in the Philippines. The Court of Appeals consists of one presiding justice and sixty-eight associate justices. Pursuant to the Constitution, the Court of Appe ...

. Among its notable members are Associate Justice Romulo Borja of the

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much ...

,"Associate Justice Romulo V. Borja"
Court of Appeals. Retrieved 2014-03-21. former governor and congressman George Arnaiz of the Province of

Negros Oriental Negros Oriental ( ceb, Sidlakang Negros; tl, Silangang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Oriental, is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Dumaguete. It occupies the southeas ...

, and Atty. Burt Estrada, the current National President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).

Chapters

(Mother Chapter) *

References

{{reflist Student societies in the Philippines Legal fraternities and sororities in the Philippines Student organizations established in 1974 1974 establishments in the Philippines