Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera (born Ameurfina Aguinaldo Melencio; 11 May 1922 – 12 October 2020) was a Filipino
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
who served as an
Associate Justice
Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some state ...
of the
Philippine Supreme Court
The Supreme Court ( fil, Kataas-taasang Hukuman; colloquially referred to as the ''Korte Suprema'' lso used in formal writing is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on Ju ...
from 1979 to 1992. She was the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court,
filling the vacancy left by the retirement of the first female Supreme Court Justice,
Cecilia Muñoz-Palma
Cecilia Muñoz-Palma (November 22, 1913 – January 2, 2006) was a Filipino jurist and the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the Philippines. She was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Ferdinand Marcos on October 29, 1973, an ...
.
Personal life
Born in
Cabanatuan
Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan ( fil, Lungsod ng Cabanatuan; ilo, Siudad ti Cabanatuan), is a 1st class component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 327,325 peop ...
,
Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( tgl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Ecija , also ; ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Ecija; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Ecija; Kapampangan: ''Lalawigan/Probinsia ning Nueva Ecija''), is a landlocked province i ...
to Jose P. and Carmen (née Aguinaldo) Melencio, Herrera was a granddaughter of
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and is recognized as the first president of the Philippine ...
, the first
President of the Philippines
The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...
. Among the future Justice's baptismal godfathers was Supreme Court justice
George A. Malcolm, who also happened to be the founder of the law school she would later attend, the
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 ...
.
Melencio-Herrera died on 12 October 2020 at the age of 98.
Early career
Herrera studied law at the
University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...
and graduated
cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
in 1947. She topped the 1947 Philippine Bar Examinations with a 93.85% bar rating.
She has attained the highest rating for all women bar examinees in Philippine Bar history. After a brief stint with a
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
law firm, Herrera engaged in private practice for several years until she was appointed to the judiciary. From 1962 to 1973, Herrera served as a trial court judge assigned in
Quezon Province
Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon ( tl, Lalawigan ng Quezon), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Kalilayan was the first known name of the province. It was later renamed Tayabas. In honor of the ...
, then the
City of Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...
. She was appointed to the
Court of Appeals
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
in 1973.
Supreme Court
Herrera was elevated to the Supreme Court by
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:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
in 1979. When
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...
assumed the presidency following the
1986 EDSA Revolution, the incumbent members of the Supreme Court, all of whom were Marcos appointees, were asked to resign. Herrera, along with
Claudio Teehankee Sr.,
Vicente Abad Santos
Vicente Abad Santos (: 12 July 1916 – 30 December 1993) was a Filipino who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
Profile
Abad Santos was born in San Fernando, Pampanga, a city in Central Luzon to a single mot ...
,
Nestor Alampay
Nestor may refer to:
* Nestor (mythology), King of Pylos in Greek mythology
Arts and entertainment
* "Nestor" (''Ulysses'' episode) an episode in James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses''
* Nestor Studios, first-ever motion picture studio in Hollywood, ...
, and
Hugo Gutierrez Jr. Hugo Gutierrez Jr. (January 29, 1927 – June 12, 2013) was a Filipino jurist and civil liberties advocate. Gutierrez served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines May 14, 1982 - March 31, 1993.
He had to resign in disgra ...
were the only incumbent justices who retained their seats on the bench. Aquino, however, opted to extend new appointments to these justices in lieu of extending their previous appointment by Marcos. Prior to re-appointing Herrera, Alampay and Gutierrez Jr. on 16 April 1986, Aquino appointed three new members to the Supreme Court,
Jose Feria
Jose Yusay Feria (January 11, 1917 – May 8, 2008) was a Filipino lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 1986 to 1987. He was among the first appointees to the Supreme Court of President ...
,
Marcelo Fernan
Marcelo "Celing" Briones Fernan (October 24, 1927 – July 11, 1999) was a Filipino lawyer and political figure. He is the only Filipino to have served as both Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and as Senate President. He is also the thi ...
and
Andres Narvasa
Andres dela Rosa Narvasa (November 30, 1928 – October 31, 2013) was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from December 1, 1991, to November 30, 1998.
He served as chairman of the Preparatory Commission for Constitutional ...
. As a result, Herrera, Alampay and Gutierrez Jr. were supplanted in seniority by the Aquino appointees.
When
Chief Justice Marcelo Fernan resigned in 1992 to run for the vice-presidency, Herrera was widely regarded as a leading contender to replace him. Because she was overtaken in seniority by Narvasa after the 1986 reorganization, however, it was Narvasa who was named Chief Justice, although Herrera had served on the Court longer.
Herrera retired in May 1992, and was named as the Chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy upon its inception in 1996. The academy is tasked with the professional training of members of the Philippines judiciary. Herrera served as Chancellor until May 2009.
References
*
Supreme Court E-library: The Memorabilia Room accessed 27 April 2015.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melencio-Herrera, Ameurfina
1922 births
2020 deaths
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
Filipino women lawyers
University of the Philippines alumni
Aguinaldo family
People from Cabanatuan
Justices of the Court of Appeals of the Philippines
Filipino women judges
20th-century women judges