Hon. Manuel Cruz Herrera (c. 1924–1998) was a lawyer, an instructor in 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 20 ...

and

Manuel Luis Quezon University The 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 Philippine Manuel L. Quezon. History ...

, and a deputy ''tanod bayan'' ( Ombudsman at present) during the Marcos regime and later, head of the prosecution panel in the

Benigno Aquino Jr. Benigno "Ninoy" Simeon Aquino Jr., (; November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino politician who served as a senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac. Aquino was the husband of Corazon Aqui ...

murder case that led to the EDSA Revolution of 1986. And then became one of the justices of 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 ...

from 1987 to 1997, and chair of the National Unification Commission. Born in Wawa, Pilar,

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the enti ...

,Profile of Atty. Manuel C. Herrera
a
PhilippineLaw.info
/ref> Manuel Herrera was the second of nine children of Jose S. Herrera Sr., third

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Mayor of Pilar (''sheriff at that time'') and Brigida Cruz, both natives of Wawa, Pilar, Bataan. He studied law at

Manuel L. Quezon University The 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 Philippine Manuel L. Quezon. History ...

while working as a

janitor A janitor (American English, Scottish English), also known as a custodian, porter, cleanser, cleaner or caretaker, is a person who cleans and maintains buildings. In some cases, they will also carry out maintenance and security duties. A simil ...

. Herrera was known for his generosity towards his fellow ''kababayans'', his bravery, kindness,

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

, and integrity, especially as a justice of the

. Despite their courageous efforts in presenting new evidences and eyewitnesses, he felt that there was really a conspiracy to assassinate not only former senator

Ninoy Aquino Benigno "Ninoy" Simeon Aquino Jr., (; November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino politician who served as a senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac. Aquino was the husband of Corazon Aquino ...

but also the

fall guy Fall guy is a colloquial phrase that refers to a person to whom blame is deliberately and falsely attributed in order to deflect blame from another party. Origin The origin of the term "fall guy" is unknown and contentious. Many sources place ...

Rolando Galman. On January 10, 1985, he and his prosecution team together by presiding Justice Manuel Pamaram were called by President Marcos to a meeting in Malacañan Palace, insinuating that Galman was really the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

who shot Aquino and defended the accused. Herrera tried to voice out his opinion by telling that Galman was a fall guy and there was an ongoing conspiracy but Pamaran told him not to contradict Marcos because he was sick at that time and the President might collapse. But it only swelled the flood of dissatisfaction of his regime, less than a year the

EDSA People Power 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 ...

occurred and Marcos found himself out in power. In March 1986 he revealed that Marcos did in fact try to influence, if not direct, the outcome of the first

Sandiganbayan The Sandiganbayan ( en, Support of the Nation) is a special appellate collegial court in the Philippines that has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving graft and corrupt practices and other offenses committed by public officer ...

. Herrera then became one of the

Associate justices 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

until his retirement. Herrera died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at the age of 74. A road (Justice Manuel C. Herrera Road) was named after him in honor of his great contributions to the people and love of his fellows ''kabarangays''.

References

External links

A.M. No. 14297- Ret. : June 19, 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrera, Manuel C 1998 deaths 20th-century Filipino judges 1920s births Manuel L. Quezon University alumni Year of birth uncertain People from Bataan Justices of the Court of Appeals of the Philippines