Hon. Manuel Cruz Herrera (c. 1924–1998) was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, an instructor in the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

and Manuel Luis Quezon University, and a deputy ''tanod bayan'' (

Ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

at present) during the Marcos regime and later, head of the prosecution panel in the Benigno Aquino Jr. murder case that led to the EDSA Revolution of 1986. And then became one of the justices of the

Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

from 1987 to 1997, and chair of the National Unification Commission. Born in Wawa, Pilar,

Bataan Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entire Bataan Peninsula ...

,Profile of Atty. Manuel C. Herrera
a
PhilippineLaw.info
/ref> Manuel Herrera was the second of nine children of Jose S. Herrera Sr., third

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

Mayor of Pilar (''sheriff at that time'') and Brigida Cruz, both natives of Wawa, Pilar, Bataan. He studied law at Manuel L. Quezon University while working as a

janitor A cleaner, cleanser or cleaning operative is a type of Industry (economics), industrial or domestic worker who is tasked with cleaning a space. A janitor (Scotland, United States and Canada), also known as a custodian, Facility Operator, porter ...

. Herrera was known for his generosity towards his fellow ''kababayans'', his bravery, kindness,

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

, and integrity, especially as a justice of the

. Despite their courageous efforts in presenting new evidences and eyewitnesses, he felt that there was really a conspiracy to assassinate not only former senator

Ninoy Aquino Benigno "Ninoy" Simeón Aquino Jr., (, ; November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino politician who served as a senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac (1963–1967). Aquino was the husban ...

but also the fall guy Rolando Galman. On January 10, 1985, he and his prosecution team together by presiding Justice Manuel Pamaram were called by President Marcos to a meeting in Malacañan Palace, insinuating that Galman was really the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

who shot Aquino and defended the accused. Herrera tried to voice out his opinion by telling that Galman was a fall guy and there was an ongoing conspiracy but Pamaran told him not to contradict Marcos because he was sick at that time and the President might collapse. But it only swelled the flood of dissatisfaction of his regime, less than a year the EDSA People Power Revolution occurred and Marcos found himself out in power. In March 1986 he revealed that Marcos did in fact try to influence, if not direct, the outcome of the first

Sandiganbayan The Sandiganbayan () is a special Appellate court, appellate collegial court in the Philippines that has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving Graft (politics), graft and corrupt practices and other offenses committed by public ...

. Herrera then became one of the Associate justices of the

until his retirement. Herrera died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at the age of 74. A road (Justice Manuel C. Herrera Road) was named after him in honor of his great contributions to the people and love of his fellows ''kabarangays''.

References

External links

A.M. No. 14297- Ret. : June 19, 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrera, Manuel C 1998 deaths 20th-century Filipino judges 1920s births Manuel L. Quezon University alumni Year of birth uncertain People from Bataan Justices of the Court of Appeals of the Philippines