Regalado "Dodong" E. Maambong (January 2, 1939 – May 27, 2011) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission, which drafted the

Constitution of the Philippines The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'', Spanish: ''Constitución de la República de Filipinas'') is the constitution or the supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines ...

Profile and career

He was born in

Santa Fe, Cebu Santa Fe, officially the Municipality of Santa Fe ( ceb, Lungsod sa Santa Fe; tgl, Bayan ng Santa Fe), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,471 people. The mu ...

. His father, Joaquin Tagalog Maambong, was a judge. He studied pre-law at the

University of San Carlos The University of San Carlos, also referred to by its acronym USC or colloquially shortened to San Carlos, is a private, Catholic, research, coeducational basic and higher education institution administered by the Philippine Southern Province ...

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

, before completing his

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_aff ...

, a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

university in

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 populate ...

. He passed the Philippines

bar exam 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 associa ...

within the top 20 for the country. A criminologist, Maambong later served as the dean of the College of Criminology of the

University of the Visayas The University of the Visayas (UV) is a private institution located in Cebu City, Philippines. It is the first school in the province of Cebu to attain university status. History Vicente Gullas (1898–1970) founded the University of the Visay ...

. Maambong served in both the Filipino legislative and executive branches of government. He was elected to the

Batasang Pambansa The Batasang Pambansa Complex, or simply the Batasan (), is the seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It is located along the Batasan Road in Batasan Hills, Quezon City. The complex was initially the home of the Batasang Pa ...

in 1984 as a member of the

Kilusang Bagong Lipunan The New Society Movement ( fil, Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, KBL), formerly named the New Society Movement of United Nationalists, Liberals, et cetera ( fil, Kilusang Bagong Lipunan ng Nagkakaisang Nacionalista, Liberal, at iba pa, KBLNNL), is a ...

(KBL). After the fall of

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 ...

, President

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 ...

appointed Maambong as a

trial judge A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...

in Cebu and then as a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission. As a member of the Commission, Maambong helped to write and draft the Constitution of the Philippines drafted in 1987. Aquino then appointed Maambong as a Commissioner of the

Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

, or

Comelec COMELEC or Comelec may refer to any of the following: * Commission on Elections (Philippines) (Comelec) * North African Power Pool The Comité Maghrébin de l'Electricité (COMELEC), also Maghreb Electricity Committee and North African Power Poo ...

. Maambong retired from Comelec and ran as a candidate for Governor of Cebu in 2001. However, he was defeated by Pablo Garcia. In 2002,

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 ...

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...

appointed him 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

Court of Appeals of the Philippines The Court of Appeals ( fil, Hukuman ng Pag-aapela) is an appellate collegiate court in the Philippines. The Court of Appeals consists of one presiding justice and sixty-eight associate justices. Pursuant to the Constitution, the Court of Appe ...

. He served as the chairman of the 15th Division of the Court of Appeals until 2009. Maambong made an unsuccessful bid for the Philippines Senate in 2010. He was considered an expert in

election law Election law is a branch of public law that relates to the democratic processes, election of representatives and office holders, and referendums, through the regulation of the electoral system, voting rights, ballot access, election management b ...

. Maambong spearheaded and advocated the automation of the Philippines election system, which was fully implemented for the May 2010 Philippine general election.

Death

Regalado Maambong died from multiple organ failure at his

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

on May 27, 2011, aged 72. He was survived by his wife, Ruth, two sons Victor and Renren, and five grandchildren. Maambong was laid in state at St. Peter's Memorial Chapel, cremated at Quezon City Columbarium, and his remains returned to

, his home province. His ashes were spread at a cemetery in

Asturias, Cebu Asturias, officially the Municipality of Asturias ( ceb, Lungsod sa Asturias; tgl, Bayan ng Asturias), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 55,397 people. Histor ...

. Philippines Chief Justice

Renato Corona Renato Tereso Antonio Coronado Corona (October 15, 1948 – April 29, 2016) was a Filipino judge who was the 23rd chief justice of the Philippines from 2010 to 2012. He served as an associate justice after being appointed by President Gloria Ma ...

called Maambong "a great man. A

constitutionalist Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional ...

, an election expert and a great jurist. he death ofJustice Maambong was a big loss to the legal circle and to the academe. His contributions in the field of law will never be forgotten."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maambong, Regalado 2011 deaths 1930s births 20th-century Filipino lawyers Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Cebu Kilusang Bagong Lipunan politicians 21st-century Filipino judges Ateneo de Manila University alumni Corazon Aquino administration personnel Justices of the Court of Appeals of the Philippines University of San Carlos alumni Members of the Batasang Pambansa Commissioners of the Commission on Elections (Philippines) Members of the Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986