Great luminary in law & education

The late Fr. Joaquin Bernas, S.J., was a "true man for others" who led an inspiring life and left a legacy worth emulating, according to Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo.

Panelo paid tribute to the Jesuit priest and legal scholar as he mourned his recent passing.

Bernas, a noted constitutionalist and Dean Emeritus of Ateneo de Manila University School of Law, passed away Saturday, March 6, at the age of 88. He was a member of the commission that drafted the country’s 1987 Constitution.

"We are saddened as we relay our sincerest condolences to the family, relatives and friends, as well as the colleagues and former students, of Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas,” Panelo said.

“A true man for others, Fr. Bernas devoted most of his years sharing his knowledge and expertise on political law to aspiring lawyers, a number of whom are now either public servants or private practitioners excelling in their chosen specializations,” he added.

Panelo also remembered Bernas as a “great luminary” in the fields of law and education.

“His life as a legal scholar possessed of an erudite mind, and his works in the realm of spirituality, are an inspiration to the youth of the land and a role model to emulate,” he said.

According to Panelo, the books and commentaries written by Bernas on constitutional and public international law and jurisprudence are used as authoritative sources and references by law schools in the country.

Bernas, a class valedictorian and a bar topnotcher, also served as an amicus curiae or a "friend of the court" in numerous cases of national importance decided by the Supreme Court, Panelo said.

“We join our fellow countrymen, particularly the members of the legal community, in expressing grief for the loss of another great luminary in both fields of law and education,” he said.

“We pray that Fr. Bernas rest in eternal peace and may the perpetual light shine upon him,” he added.