Haydee Bofill Yorac (; March 4, 1941 — September 12, 2005) was a Filipina

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

law professor A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a legal practition ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. She was its first female acting chairperson (1990-1991).

Early life

Yorac was born on March 4, 1941, in the municipality of Saravia (now E. B. Magalona),

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental (; ), officially the Province of Negros Occidental (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Negros, Negros Island. Its capital is the city of Bacolod, of which it is geographically s ...

to Jose Yorac and Josefa Bofill. She earned a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from the

University of the Philippines Diliman The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...

in 1962. She placed 8th in the 1962 Philippine Bar Examinations, with an 86.95% rating. She was a member of the Order of the Purple Feather (Law Honor Society) while a student of law. She also earned a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

major in

public international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

, minor in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, in 1981.

Martial law

When

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

placed the Philippines under

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

on September 23, 1972, he arrested various lawyers, academics, and intellectuals who were likely to lead protests against the move. Yorac was among the first to be arrested, and was imprisoned in Camp Crame for three months. Upon her release, Yorac volunteered her services to the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), notably helping Lino Brocka and Behn Cervantes when they were charged with inciting to sedition in 1984.

Private career

Yorac taught and served in the Admissions Screening Committee of the University of the Philippines College of Law. She was an assistant vice president for academic affairs at the University of the Philippines Diliman and a senior researcher at the University of the Philippines Law Center. She also became the chief legal counsel of the University of the Philippines for a few years.

Public career

She was appointed by then President

Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...

to serve as commissioner of the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in 1986. She was also a key figure in the new government's peace process, having served as chairperson of the National Unification Council, a predecessor of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, which was created on the council's recommendation in July 1993. Yorac vied for a seat in the

Philippine Senate The Senate of the Philippines () is the upper house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the House of Representatives as the lower house. The Senate is composed of 24 senators who are elected at-large (the country f ...

in the 1998 national elections through the Reporma–LM party of

Renato de Villa Renato "Rene" Salud de Villa (born July 20, 1935) is a Filipino former police and military officer and government official. He served as Chief of Philippine Constabulary, Director-General of the Integrated National Police, and Chief of Staff o ...

but lost.

Death

Yorac battled with ovarian cancer and died on September 12, 2005, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, aged 64. Her remains were buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. She was succeeded as PCGG chair by

Camilo Sabio Camilo Sabio (born June 16, 1936) is a public lawyer and past chairman of the Philippines' Presidential Commission on Good Government. He previously held the position of Secretary-General in the Philippine House of Representatives from 1992 to 19 ...

Legacy

BantayogWall20181115Alternativity-2000-2001-2002-2004-2005

For her activism and volunteer legal work during martial law, and for her later work at the

Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

and the

Presidential Commission on Good Government The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) is a quasi-judicial government agency of the Philippines whose primary mandate is to recover the ill-gotten wealth accumulated by Ferdinand Marcos, his immediate family, relatives, subordi ...

, Yorac was honored upon her death by having her name etched on the Wall of Remembrance of the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani, which honors the martyrs and heroes who fought to defeat the Marcos dictatorship.

Publications

*"Legal Status of Mercenaries" *"Preventive Detention and Metaphysics of Repression" *"Child Custody Determinations: A Reappraisal" *"The Philippine Claim to the Spratly Island Group," '' Philippine Law Journal'' *Philippine Treaty Series, Vols. 1–4, 6–7 (editor)

Professional and civic affiliations

Integrated Bar of the Philippines
*Philippine Society of International Law
American Society of International Law
*Free Legal Assistance Group (National Board Member) * U.P.

Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a national Mixed-sex education, coeducational Service fraternities and sororities, service Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It is the largest College fraterniti ...

sorority (Formerly U.P. Kappa Phi Omega Sorority)U.P. Alpha Phi Omega sorority alumni listing
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yorac, Haydee 1941 births 2005 deaths Deaths from ovarian cancer Deaths from cancer in Illinois University of the Philippines alumni Ramon Magsaysay Award winners People from Negros Occidental Heads of government agencies of the Philippines Partido para sa Demokratikong Reporma politicians Burials at the Libingan ng mga Bayani Arroyo administration personnel Corazon Aquino administration personnel 20th-century Filipino women politicians 20th-century Filipino politicians Individuals honored at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani 20th-century Filipino lawyers Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Merit (Philippines) 20th-century Filipino women lawyers