Joaquin Guevara Bernas SJ (July 7, 1932 – March 6, 2021) was a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest, lawyer, college professor and writer who was Dean Emeritus of the Ateneo de Manila Law School in

Makati Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission which drafted the 1987

Philippine Constitution The Constitution of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'') is the supreme law of the Philippines. Its final draft was completed by the Constitutional Commission on October 12, 1986, and rat ...

. Bernas specialized in the

and was an author of law books and articles.

Education

Bernas was born in Baao, Camarines Sur in 1932 and raised in Naga, and he graduated

Ateneo de Naga University Ateneo de Naga University () and () also referred to by its acronym AdNU, is a Private school, private Catholic Jesuit basic and higher education institution run by the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus in Naga City, Camarines Sur, Na ...

for his high school degree in 1950. He moved to

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

and earned his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in English,

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Classics, and right after a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

at the Berchmans College school for Theology (now housed at Ateneo de Manila University, the previous site is now the current home of the

University of the Philippines Cebu The University of the Philippines Cebu (; ; also referred to as UPC or UP Cebu) is a public research university and the youngest constituent university of the University of the Philippines System located in Cebu City, the capital city of Cebu ...

) in 1956 and 1957, respectively. He arrived in Manila thereafter with dreams to become a lawyer as well. In 1962, he received his

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 ...

degree from Ateneo de Manila Law School as its valedictorian and placed 9th in the bar examinations given that year. He simultaneously applied to join the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

in 1950 as the vocation was his primary goal and was eventually ordained to the priesthood in 1965. Bernas had a

Licentiate of Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology (; abbreviated LTh or STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theology) which are conferred ...

from

Woodstock College Woodstock College was a Society of Jesus, Jesuit seminary that existed from 1869 to 1974. It was the oldest Jesuit seminary in the United States. The school was located in Woodstock, Maryland, west of Baltimore, from its establishment until 1969, ...

in 1966,

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 ...

and

Doctor of Juridical Science A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of the Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate degree in law that is equivalent to a Ph.D. degree. In most countries, it is the most advanced law degree that can be earned. Australia ...

from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1965 and 1968, respectively.

Career

Bernas began teaching at Ateneo de Manila Law School in 1966. He served as dean twice during 1972 to 1976 and 2000 to 2004 and

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of Ateneo de Manila University during 1984 to 1993. Upon his retirement as Law Dean in 2004, Bernas was conferred the position of Dean Emeritus at Ateneo School of Law. He continued to teach ''Constitutional Law'' and ''Public International Law'' to law freshmen and sophomores. He was a member of the Constitutional Commission formed by 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 ...

in 1986, a

Provincial Superior A provincial superior is an officer of a religious institute (including religious orders) acting under the institute's Superior General. A provincial superior exercises general supervision over all the members of that institute in a territorial ...

of the

in the Philippines during 1976 to 1982, rector of the Jesuit Residence during 1994 to 2000 and a director of the

Philippine Stock Exchange The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (; ) is the national stock exchange of the Philippines. The exchange was created in 1992 from the merger of the Manila Stock Exchange and the Makati Stock Exchange. Including previous forms, the exchange has ...

Later life and death

Bernas was confined at

The Medical City Professional Services Inc. operating as The Medical City (TMC) is a health institution in the Philippines which maintains a network of hospitals and clinics in the Philippines. The TMC also maintains the Guam Regional Medical City in Guam and a ...

for six weeks due to an infection and was discharged from the hospital on March 4, 2021. Bernas died at the Ateneo Jesuit Residence inside the Ateneo de Manila University campus in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

on March 6, 2021. He died at the age of 88.

Publications

*''The Intent of the 1986 Constitution Writers'' (1995) *''The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: A Commentary'' (1996) *''Constitutional Structure and Powers of Government: Notes and Cases'' (1997) *''A Living Constitution: The Ramos Presidency'' (1999) () *''A Living Constitution: The Cory Aquino Presidency'' (2000) () *"From One-Man Rule to People Power" (2001) *''An Introduction to Public International Law'' (2002) *''A Living Constitution: The Abbreviated Estrada Presidency'' (2003) () *''Constitutional Rights and Social Demands: Notes and Cases'' (2004) *''The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines: A Comprehensive Reviewer'' (2006) *''A Living Constitution: The Troubled Arroyo Presidency'' (2007) () *''A Living Constitution: Constitutional Issues Arising During the Troubled Gloria Arroyo Presidency Part II'' (2010) ()

References

External links

Fr. Bernas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernas, Joaquin 1932 births 2021 deaths Ateneo de Manila University alumni Academic staff of Ateneo de Manila University Filipino academic administrators 20th-century Filipino Jesuits Filipino male journalists 20th-century Filipino lawyers Deans of law schools in the Philippines People from Baao People from Quezon City Presidents of universities and colleges in the Philippines Woodstock College alumni Members of the Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986