27/12/2023
The Great Justice JBL Reyes.
On December 27, 1994, Justice Jose Benedicto Luna Reyes, also known for his initial JBL, died. Serving as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1954 to 1972, Reyes was known to have penned landmark decisions which continue to influence Filipino jurisprudence to this day, standing up against presidents in the belief that there is "no master but law."
Legend has it that President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. intentionally waited for Reyes's retirement before he proceeded to declare martial law, supposedly knowing that critics would attempt to bring legality issues to the Supreme Court.
Born in Manila on August 19, 1902, he finished law in the University of the Philippines at the age of 20. He ranked 6th in the Bar in the same year (1922), but he was only allowed to take his oath the following year since the Bar required members to be at least 21 years old. During his private practice, he taught law in various institutions, including his own alma mater.
In 1937, he became one of the founding members of the Civil Liberties Union of the Philippines, highlighting his advocacy for human rights. By 1940, he was made Assistant Solicitor General by President Manuel Quezon. His involvement in the guerrilla movement during the Second World War earned him imprisonment, but the Japanese eventually spared him from being executed.
In 1973, shortly after his retirement from the Supreme Court, Reyes served as the president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP). He would be designated as president emeritus of the organization for the remainder of his life.
During the administration of President Corazon Aquino, he was appointed in the Presidential Committee on Human Rights (later Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines), which acting chairmanship he assumed in 1987 after the resignation of Jose Diokno. Learn more about the history of the Filipino judiciary: https://history-ph.blogspot.com/
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