Romeo J. Callejo Sr. (April 28, 1937 – September 19, 2023) was the 152nd

associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines An associate justice of the Supreme Court () is one of fifteen members of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Supreme Court, the highest court in the Philippines. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, chief justice presid ...

. He was appointed to the court on August 26, 2002, by President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...

, and served until his mandatory retirement on April 27, 2007.

Profile

Born in

Santa Lucia, Ilocos Sur Santa Lucia, officially the Municipality of Santa Lucia (; ), is a municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,966 people. The town celebrates the feast of its patroness, Saint ...

, Callejo Sr. worked with the government for 37 years, serving the Judiciary as magistrate at three court levels. After earning his

Associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

and

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

San Beda College of Law San Beda College of Law is the law school of San Beda University, a private, Roman Catholic university run by the Benedictine monks in the Philippines.Directory of Higher Education Institutions, Commission on Higher Education, 2006-2007. The mai ...

in 1955 and 1962, respectively, as a

Silver Medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

ist, he passed the 1961

Philippine Bar Examinations The Philippine Bar Examinations is the professional licensure examination for lawyers in the Philippines. The exam is exclusively administered by the Supreme Court of the Philippines through the Supreme Court Bar Examination Committee. History ...

. Callejo joined the law office of Senator

Jose W. Diokno Jose Wright Diokno (; February 26, 1922 – February 27, 1987), also known as "''Ka Pepe''," was a Filipino statesman, nationalist, and lawyer. Regarded as the "Father of Human Rights" in the country, he served as a Senator of the Philippi ...

. Thereafter, he joined the Montenegro, Madayag, and Hernandez Law Office until 1964-1986. He spent the next 24 years in private practice. Callejo was appointed a

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

trial court judge in 1986 and was promoted to 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 ...

in 1994 and became a Member of its Committee on the Revision of the Internal Rules, until his appointment to the Supreme Court in 2002. He attended the Graduate Academy of American and International Law,

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Texas at Austin, a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas. According to Texas Law’s American Bar ...

in 1987. He was a Representative of the Australian-Philippine Training Program,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia in 2000. An expert in the fields of

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

and

procedural law Procedural law, adjective law, in some jurisdictions referred to as remedial law, or rules of court, comprises the rules by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil procedure, civil, lawsuit, criminal procedure, criminal or admini ...

, Callejo also taught these subjects in various law schools - Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Cosmopolitan Review Center, Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Arellano University, Ateneo de Manila University,

University of the Philippines College of Law The University of the Philippines College of Law (often referred to as UP Law) is the law school of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Formally established in 1911 in UP Manila, it is the third oldest continually-operating law school ...

Law Center, Far Eastern University, including his alma mater

San Beda College San Beda University () is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Order of Saint Benedict in San Miguel, Manila, Philippines. It was founded by the Benedictines in 1901. The main campus is situated ...

from 1987 to 2000. Possibly one of the most prolific opinion writers in recent Supreme Court history, Callejo retired on April 28, 2007, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. Upon his retirement, he received the Justice Jose Abad Santos Award from Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno in the retirement ceremonies held in his honor on the day of his retirement. As his 21 years of service in the judiciary drew to a close midnight on April 28, 2007, he was acclaimed by his colleagues for “his untarnished reputation for honesty and integrity, which lawyers and judges, present and future, should emulate.” He was a Philippine Judicial Academy

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

, and was its Vice-

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

in 2015, and

Chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

of the Department of Criminal Law from 1998 until his death. October 18, 2020, Callejo Sr. was appointed Judicial Integrity Board's Chairman, with 3-year term. Callejo was a member of the Retired Judges Association of the Philippines.

Personal life

Callejo Sr. was married to Maraia Filipinas Villanueva. Their children are Michel and Geraldine Geday, and Romeo and Ivy Callejo. Their

grandchildren Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as m ...

are Jacqueline Callejo-Geday and Amelie Callejo.

Death

Callejo, Sr. died on September 19, 2023, at the age of 86. His wake was held at Loyola Memorial Chapels

funeral home A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary is a business that provides burial, entombment and cremation services for the dead and their families. These services may include a prepared visitation and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for t ...

along Commonwealth Avenue from September 20-23. On September 22, at 4:00 P.M.,

Alexander Gesmundo Alexander Gahon Gesmundo (born November 6, 1956) is a Filipino judge who has served as the 27th Chief Justice of the Philippines, chief justice of the Philippines since 2021. He previously served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of t ...

Diosdado Peralta Diosdado "Dado" Madarang Peralta (born March 27, 1952) is a Filipino attorney and jurist who served as the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as an associate justice of the Supreme Cour ...

Lucas Bersamin Lucas Purugganan "Luke" Bersamin (born October 18, 1949) is a Filipino lawyer and jurist who has served as the 40th executive secretary of the Philippines under President Bongbong Marcos since 2022. He previously served as the 25th chief just ...

and Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez led the

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a term o ...

in the solemn necrological service. On September 23, the

cremation Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

of his mortal remains was followed by inurnment ceremony.

Some notable opinions

''People v. Lacson (2003)''
— ''on reinstitution of criminal cases for

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

against

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Panfilo Lacson Panfilo "Ping" Morena Lacson Sr. (; born June 1, 1948) is a Filipino politician who is a senator-elect of the Philippines. He is also a former police general who served as director general of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from 1999 to 2 ...

''
''People v. Orilla (2004) — Concurring and Dissenting''
— ''on

aggravating circumstances Aggravation, in law, is "any circumstance attending the commission of a crime or tort which increases its guilt or enormity or adds to its injurious consequences, but which is above and beyond the essential constituents of the crime or tort itself" ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

cases (joined by J.

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...

)''
''Tecson v. COMELEC (2004) - Separate Opinion''
— ''on the nationality of

presidential Presidential may refer to: * "Presidential" (song), a 2005 song by YoungBloodZ * Presidential Airways (charter), an American charter airline based in Florida * Presidential Airways (scheduled), an American passenger airline active in the 1980s * ...

candidate

Fernando Poe Jr. Ronald Allan Kelley Poe (August 20, 1939 – December 14, 2004), known professionally as Fernando Poe Jr., and often referred to by his initials FPJ, was a Filipino actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, and politician. His long and s ...

''
''Brilliantes v. COMELEC (2004)''
— ''on validity of proposed COMELEC "quick count" for 2004 presidential elections.''

— ''on court-martial of participants of

Oakwood mutiny On July 27, 2003, the Oakwood mutiny was staged by a group of about 300 armed defectors from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) led by Army Capt. Gerardo Gambala and Navy Lt. Senior Grade Antoni ...

''
''ABAKADA v. Ermita (2005) — Concurring and Dissenting Opinion''
— ''on

constitutionality In constitutional law, constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applic ...

of 2005 Expanded

Value Added Tax A value-added tax (VAT or goods and services tax (GST), general consumption tax (GCT)) is a consumption tax that is levied on the value added at each stage of a product's production and distribution. VAT is similar to, and is often compared wi ...

law.''
''Laurel v. Abrogar (2006)''
— ''on

phreaking Phreaking is a slang term coined to describe the activity of a culture of people who study, experiment with, or explore telecommunication systems, such as equipment and systems connected to public telephone networks. The term ''phreak'' is a se ...

theft Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shor ...

under Philippine

''
''NASECORE v. ERC (2006)''
— ''on nullification of increase in

Meralco The Manila Electric Company, also known as Meralco (, , stylized in uppercase), is an electric power distribution company in the Philippines. It is Metro Manila's only electric power distributor and holds the power distribution franchise for 3 ...

electricity rates for violation of

due process Due process of law is application by the state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to a case so all legal rights that are owed to a person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual p ...

References

External links

''Justice Callejo Retires'' (Supreme Court Press Release)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callejo, Romeo Sr. 1937 births 2023 deaths Associate justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines 20th-century Filipino judges Filipino educators San Beda University alumni People from Ilocos Sur Justices of the Court of Appeals of the Philippines 21st-century Filipino judges