Manuel G. Araullo

MANUEL G. ARAULLO (1853-1924)

Manuel Araullo y Gonzales, eminent jurist, was born in Batangas on January 1, 1853.


He was educated at the Ateneo Municipal but later on transferred to the Colegio de San Juan de Letran where he received his Bachelor of Philosophy degree. He went on to study theology but shifted to law at the University of Santo Tomas. He completed his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1876. While still a student, he won a prize for his essay Labor Omnia Vincit.


Araullo passed the bar in 1877 and proceeded to practice law. Eager to continue his studies, he left for Spain and there completed his doctorate in law in ]878. He travelled extensively through England and France, practiced law for a while in Spain but decided to return to the Philippines in April 1879


His educational attainment and his brilliant record caused him to be appointed to a number of distinguished positions. He was made a Relator de la Audiencia, an office he held for ten years. He also served, on a concurrent basis, as secretary to the government and as Abogado Fiscal de Audiencia of Manila. He was tranferred to Cebu in 1890, and there promoted to Fiscal de Audiencia Territorial. Araullo became so popular that he was literally swamped with offers of important positions. He became Promotor Fiscal of Binondo; lawyers and Fiscal of the Audiencia in Manila; Magistrado Suplente for four years and Letrado en la Intendencia General de Hacienda. Araullo resigned his government offices to accept a professorial chair at the Uhiversity of Santo Tomas from 1892 to 1898 where he taught Derecho Mercantil y Hacienda Publica.


On May 28, 1899 Araullo was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, a position he held for two years. In 1931,he became the judge of the Court of First Instance of Pampanga.


On January 1, 1913, he was named Chairman of the Code Committee created with Washington L. Goldsborough, Francisco Ortigas, Rafael del Pan and Thomas A. Street as members. The Committee had been created by the Philippine Legislative and it was charged with delicate duties to revise the civil, commercial, penal and procedural codes, the mortgage and land registration acts, and to prepare new codes in accordance with modern principles of law and customs of the country. When this job was accomplished, Araullo was again reappointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1913. He served in that capacity until his appointment as Chief Justice on 1 November 1921. He succeeded Chief Justice Victorino Mapa and became the third Filipino to hold such an office. He served as Chief Justice until his death on July 16, 1924.


To perpetuate the memory of this brilliant jurist, the former Manila Evening Grammar School was renamed Araullo High School in 1947.

Vicente Abad Santos

Vicente Abad Santos
(1916-1993)
Supreme Court Justice

Vicente Abad Santos, the namesake of the father of former Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, and his nephew, was born on July 12, 1916 in San Fernando, Pampanga. He finished his early schooling in hometown, then went to Manila for his higher studies. He graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude. He obtained his master’s degree in law from Harvard University.

He entered the government service as technical assistant in the department of justice in 1954. In 1956, he was appointed judge of the Court of First Instance in the 15th judicial district. After two years in the judiciary, he became dean and professor at the College of Law of the University of the Philippines. He also served as a supervisor of the UP Law Center and, in 1962, a member of the Board of Pardons and Parole. He was appointed secretary of justice by President Marcos in 1977. In June of the same year, Marcos named him to the supreme Court as an associate justice, but he did not immediately assume the post and, instead, continued on as justice secretary.

Abad Santos was one of the most learned legal luminaries harnessed by President Marcos in his, lamentably. tainted pursuit of the New Society goals. Nevertheless, his integrity as a public remained unsullied

Abad Santos was a participant in various international law gatherings, among which were: the United Nations Seminar on Human Right, in Canberra, Canada, in 1963; South Asian and Pacific Conference in Jurist on the Dynamic Aspects of the Rule of Law, in Bangkok, 1965; World Peace Through Law Conference in Washington, DC, 1965 and 1975; Regional Conference on International Law, In Hong Kong, 1967; United Nations Interests on Treaties, In Vienna, 1969; United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of the Seabed, in Geneva, 1971; Third World Congress on Medical Law, in Ghent, 1973; and Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, in Caracas, 1974, Geneva, 1975 and New York, in 1976.

He was a senior fellow at the Yale Law School, 1965 to 1966; charter member and past president (two terms) of Philippine Society of International Commission of Jurists; member, Philippine Bar Association and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines; and president of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

Prior to his appointment as secretary of justice, he was governor of the Philippine Red Cross, and board member of the Philippine National Bank, the National Teacher’s College, Philippine Exchange, National Warehouse Corporation, National Sugar Development Corporation, and the Subic National slipways. He was also a member of the Petroleum Board and of the Dangerous Drugs Board.

He was married to Lydia Raquel Santos, who bore him two sons and two daughters. He died on December 30, 1933.