Ramon Caguicla Aquino (August 31, 1917 – March 31, 1993) was the 15th Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

of the

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 appointed on November 20, 1985, the last Chief Justice appointed by President

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 ...

Personal life

Aquino was born on August 31, 1917, in Lemery, Batangas, to Luciano Aquino and Arsenia Caguicla. He obtained 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 ...

from the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1939 and placed sixth in the 1939 bar exam, with a grade of 89.1%. Aquino married Carolina Griño, the 1950 Bar topnotcher who would be the fourth appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1988–1993), serving until her retirement. They had four children. He was a law professor and author of several books in civil, criminal and commercial laws. He held several government positions before becoming part of the Supreme Court. Aquino, prior to his installation at the judiciary, worked as a professor at the UP.

Legal career

As an Associate Justice

On October 29, 1973, Aquino was appointed by President

, his former law school classmate, as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, along with Estanislao Fernandez and Cecilia Muñoz-Palma.

As Chief Justice

On November 19, 1985, Aquino was appointed by Marcos as Chief Justice, replacing Felix Makasiar—also his former law school classmate—who was to retire the following day. Both Makasiar (appointed in July) and Aquino were selected while bypassing the most senior justice and the president's critic, Associate Justice Claudio Teehankee. His appointment was criticized by human rights lawyers which alleged that the president was "institutionalizing judicial cronyism."

Notable SC rulings under his leadership

Hours prior to his appointment as Chief Justice, Aquino, along with Makasiar, were the only justices who favored the dismissal of the petition for

mistrial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...

in connection with the 1983 assassination of Ninoy Aquino, against nine others who moved to order a lower court to withhold the scheduled verdict for the former to further study the petition. The petition, which claimed Marcos interfered in the trial, was dismissed on November 28 with a 9–2 vote; with Aquino saying it lacked legal basis. On January 7, 1986, the court voted, 7–5 (with Aquino affirming), to dismiss all eleven petitions which sought to nullify ''Batas Pambansa 883'' that set the February 7 special national elections for president and

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

. The election later became controversial as Marcos was proclaimed winner, defeating

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 ...

People Power Revolution; CJ Aquino's resignation

During the February 1986 revolution, Aquino administered Marcos'

oath Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...

of office for his fourth term, in a ceremony held in the

Malacañang Palace Malacañang Palace (, ), officially known as Malacañán Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila district of San Miguel, Manila, San Miguel, along Jose Laurel S ...

, which was proceeded as the live television broadcast had been interrupted a few moments prior. Marcos was eventually ousted hours after the

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

. At the beginning of the Aquino presidency, Justice Aquino responded to the president's call less than a week earlier for the resignation of the entire

. He was replaced by Teehankee on March 6.

Controversies

While being an Associate Justice, Aquino and his four fellow justices, including Vicente Ericta, Ramon Fernandez, and then Chief Justice Enrique Fernando, were directly implicated in a scandal where the grade of Ericta's son, earned in the 1981

bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...

, was allegedly revised for him to pass. All justices either denied involvement or said that there was nothing wrong in such action. President Marcos accepted the resignations of all 14 justices in May 1982; but swore in a new court days later, with all justices reinstated to their respective positions except for Ericta and Fernandez which were "found responsible" for the changing of grade.

Notes

References

*Cruz, Isagani A. (2000). "Res Gestae: A Brief History of the Supreme Court". Rex Book Store, Manila

External links

Supreme Court of the Philippines - Ramon Aquino biodata
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aquino, Ramon C. Chief justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Associate justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines 1917 births 1993 deaths Filipino educators University of the Philippines alumni People from Batangas 20th-century Filipino lawyers