AS AN alumnus of the UP College of Law, I join my co-alumni and well-wishers in jubilating over the well-deserved appointment of two alumni to positions of responsibility in our country—Marvic Fomorca Leonen as the new associate justice of the Supreme Court, and Raul Cano Pangalangan as the new publisher of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
1. Marvic Leonen—LLB, UP; master of Laws, Columbia University, NY; and government peace negotiator—is the youngest addition to the Supreme Court. He is a respected professor and former dean of the College of Law, and was vice president for legal affairs of the UP System during the incumbency of the first woman UP president Emerlinda R. Roman (his nominator to the Judicial and Bar Council).
Not yet 50 years old, Leonen will serve the longest term in the Supreme Court, and barring any unforeseen event, he will likely succeed the first woman chief justice, Maria Lourdes Sereno.
Congratulations, sir!
2. Raul C. Pangalangan—LLB, UP and doctor of Juridical Science, Harvard Law School—is an eminent professor and former dean of the UP College of Law and served as UP System’s general counsel and secretary of the university and of the Board of Regents during the presidency of Dr. Jose Veloso Abueva. I believe Pangalangan will propel the Inquirer to greater heights as the keeper of the best tradition of free, fair and fearless journalism.
More power to you!
—PIO P. FRAGO
UP Alumni Association,
lifetime member, IBP, QC Chapter
piofrago@yahoo.com