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 An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines ( fil, Kasangguning Mahistrado ng Kataas-taasang Hukuman ng Pilipinas) is one of fifteen members of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, the highest court in the Philippines. The C ...

Profile

Abad Santos was born in

San Fernando, Pampanga San Fernando, officially the City of San Fernando ( pam, Lakanbalen ning Sampernandu; fil, Lungsod ng San Fernando), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, ...

, a city in

Central Luzon Central Luzon ( pam, (Reyun ning) Kalibudtarang Luzon, pag, (Rehiyon na) Pegley na Luzon, tgl, (Rehiyon ng) Gitnang Luzon, ilo, (Rehion/Deppaar ti) Tengnga ti Luzon), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines, ...

to a single mother Escolastica Abad Santos. The two maternal uncles were prominent Filipinos during the American period, Chief Justice

José Abad Santos José Abad Santos y Basco (, ; February 19, 1886 – May 1, 1942) was the fifth chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He briefly served as the acting president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and acting commander-in-chie ...

, and his brother

Pedro Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

, a leading

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

leader during the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

era. Abad Santos earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

and degree in 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 ...

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 ...

before earning a master's degree at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in the United States. After serving briefly as a trial court judge, he joined the faculty of 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 ...

as its dean in 1958. He would serve as dean for the next 11 years.

Public service

Abad Santos was appointed Secretary (later Minister) of Justice 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 1970. He would serve in that capacity until January 1979. As early as June 1977, he was appointed to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, but he deferred accepting the appointment until January 17, 1979, when he was finally seated on the High Court. Long viewed as a supporter of

, he displayed considerable independence from the Marcos government once he was seated on the Supreme Court. By 1986, he was asked by the anti-Marcos opposition to swear into office

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 ...

's vice-presidential candidate

Salvador Laurel Salvador Roman Hidalgo Laurel (, November 18, 1928 – January 27, 2004), also known as Doy Laurel, was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the vice president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992 under President Corazon Aquino and ...

at the height of the

EDSA Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...

. When Aquino assumed the presidency on February 25, 1986, she asked for the resignation of the incumbent justices of the Supreme Court to allow her a free hand in reorganizing the Court. Abad Santos and fellow incumbent Justice

Claudio Teehankee Claudio Teehankee, CCLH (April 18, 1918 – November 27, 1989) was the 16th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 1987 to 1988. He was also the most senior associate justice and chairman of the First Division of the Supr ...

were the President's first two appointments to the reorganized Supreme Court. However, Abad Santos retired shortly after, in July 1986, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abad Santos, Vicente Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Secretaries of Justice of the Philippines 20th-century Filipino lawyers Filipino educators Harvard Law School alumni 1916 births 1993 deaths Vicente Kapampangan people People from San Fernando, Pampanga University of the Philippines Manila alumni Ferdinand Marcos administration cabinet members University of the Philippines faculty

Profile

Public service

See also

Notes

References