Sedfrey Andres Ordoñez (September 1, 1921 – November 18, 2007) was a Filipino lawyer, government official, academic, linguist, and poet. He was the delegate of his home province of

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...

to the

Philippine Constitutional Convention of 1971 The Philippine Constitutional Convention of 1971 was called to change the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines. The delegates were elected on November 10, 1970, and the convention itself was convened on June 1, 1971. It was marked by controver ...

. At different times within the term of 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 ...

, Ordoñez served as solicitor general, secretary of justice, and later, as permanent representative and ambassador to the United Nations. During the term of President

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reached ...

, he served as Chair of the

Commission on Human Rights A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

. He was also played key roles in numerous Philippine

Non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s including Bantay Katarungan,

Bantayog ng mga Bayani The Bantayog ng mga Bayani (), sometimes simply referred to as the Bantayog, is a monument, museum, and historical research center in Quezon City, Philippines, which honors the martyrs and heroes of the struggle against the Martial law under F ...

, and Kilosbayan. As a writer, he authored numerous works including poetry, plays, essays, and an autobiography titled 50 Years in Law and Letters. His name is inscribed on the wall of the remembrance of the

, which honors the martyrs and heroes of the resistance against the

Marcos dictatorship At 7:15 p.m. on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the Philippines under martial law, stating he had done so in response to the "communist threat" posed by the newly founded Communist Party ...

Life and career

Ordoñez attended the College of Liberal Arts at 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 ...

from 1940 to 1941. He received his bachelor's degree in law, after World War II, in 1948, from

Manuel L. Quezon University Manuel L. Quezon University (MLQU) is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational basic and higher education institution in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. It is named after the second president of the Philippines, Manuel L. Quezon. History On N ...

. He obtained his master's degree six years later from the Philippine Law School. Ordoñez was a partner at the law firm Salonga, Ordoñez and Yap Law Office from 1953 to 1986. From 1950 to 1986 he also lectured at various universities. In 1970, Ordoñez was elected delegate to the Constitutional Convention on behalf of the 2nd Constituency of

to draft the new Philippine Constitution, which eventually came into effect in 1972. In 1986, Ordoñez was Solicitor General of the Philippines. The following year, he was appointed minister of justice in President Corazon Aquino's cabinet on March 13. He held this position until January 2, 1990. He was subsequently appointed ambassador of the Philippines to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. After his two-year stint as ambassador, he served as chairman of the Commission on Human Rights in the Philippines from 1992 to 1995. Ordoñez died on November 18, 2007, at the

Makati Medical Center Makati Medical Center (MMC), also known as Makati Med, is a tertiary hospital in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. The hospital was founded on May 31, 1969. The hospital is owned and operated by Medical Doctors Inc., a subsidiary of Metro P ...

from a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. For his role as a human rights lawyer defending victims of the

Human rights abuses of the Marcos dictatorship The dictatorship of 10th Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s and 1980s is historically remembered for its record of human rights abuses, particularly targeting political opponents, student activists, journalists, religious workers, ...

, and for his broader opposition role during the period of

Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos At 7:15 p.m. on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the Philippines under martial law, stating he had done so in response to the "communist threat" posed by the newly founded Communist Part ...

, Ordoñez was honored by having his name inscribed on the wall of the remembrance of the

, which honors the martyrs and heroes that resisted the authoritarian regime of

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 ...

References

Sources

* ''Sedfrey Ordoñez, lawyer, poet, ambassador to UN, dies at 86'', The Philippine Daily Inquirer (19 November 2007) *
Former justice chief Ordoñez dies, 86
', GMA News online (19 November 2007) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ordoñez, Sedfrey Secretaries of justice of the Philippines Permanent representatives of the Philippines to the United Nations Individuals honored at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Lawyers honored at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Corazon Aquino administration cabinet members 2007 deaths 1921 births Chairpersons of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines