Hilario Davide, Jr.

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Hilario Davide, Jr. : biography

December 20, 1935 –

Hilario Gelbolingo Davide, Jr, GCSS (born December 20, 1935) is a former Ambassador/Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations in New York City.

He was the 20th Chief Justice of the Philippines and head of the Judicial Branch of government from November 1998 to December 2005. As the highest judicial officer, he presided over the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

On June 30, 2010, President Noynoy Aquino announced that Davide will head a truth commission that will investigate important issues in the country.

United Nations

Davide served as Ambassador/Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the United Nations in New York City. He assumed this post in February 2007. Shortly after his assumption, he was elected vice chairman of the Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc), one of the main organs of the United Nations. He resigned on his post on April 1, 2010.

Supreme Court

Associate Justice

Chief Justice

On November 30, 1998, he was appointed by President Joseph Estrada as the 20th Chief Justice of the Philippines. He took his oath of office at the new Bonifacio Shrine in the City of Manila. He became known as the Centennial and Millennial Chief Justice.

Retirement

Davide retired as chief magistrate on December 20, 2005 after he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.

However, on January 24, 2006, President Arroyo appointed him as Senior Presidential Adviser on Electoral Reforms during a Council of State meeting convened by the President. He recommended measures and policies to the President that would help reform the country’s electoral system.

Awards

In 2011 Davide was awarded one the highest honours of the Holy See – the Knight Grand Cross of the Pontifical Order of St. Sylvester by decree of Pope Benedict XVI.

Hilario Davide is the recipient of many awards. In 2002, he was conferred the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service—a singular honor that is the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize. He was recognized for his life of principled citizenship and his profound service to democracy and the rule of law in the Philippines.

Apart from the Magsaysay Award, he is also the recipient of the 2005 Most Distinguished Alumnus Award given by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association; the 2003 Man of the Year Award by the Philippine Free Press; the 2000 Filipino of the Year Award by the Philippine Daily Inquirer; the 2001 Rule of Law Award; the 1999 The Outstanding Filipino Award in Environmental Law; the 2003 Chief Justice Roberto Concepcion Award for Legal Aid by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines; and 13 honorary degrees in doctoral in law and humanities.

In August 2006, he was conferred the ABA International Rule of Law Award in recognition of his extraordinary leadership in advancing the Rule of Law by the American Bar Association (ABA) Rule of Law Initiative on the occasion of the ABA’s 2006 Annual Convention.

World Justice Project

Hilario G. Davide, Jr. serves as an Honorary Co-Chair for the World Justice Project. The World Justice Project works to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the Rule of Law for the development of communities of opportunity and equity.

Personal life

Jun, as many call him, is married to Virginia (Gigi) Jimenea Perez. They have five children, namely: Hilario III (a lawyer, former city councilor of Cebu City and Governor of Cebu); Joseph Bryan Hilary (a law graduate), Sheryl Ann (a doctor), Noreen (a Master in SPED graduate), and Delster Emmanuel (an architect) and thirteen grandchildren.

Legislator and Constitutionalist

In 1978, he was elected assemblyman for Cebu in the Interim Batasang Pambansa under the opposition party Pusyon Bisaya and became one of martial law’s staunch critics. As an oppositionist in the ruling party-dominated legislative body, he was its first Minority Floor Leader. He filed the most number of bills of national significance, as well as resolutions to lift martial law. He also sought legislative investigations of graft and corruption in government and reported violations of human rights.

COMELEC and the 1989 Coup

In February 1988, President Aquino appointed Davide as Chairman of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC). He was the principal sponsor of the COMELEC’s Rules of Procedure.

However, his stint in the COMELEC was cut short when President Aquino appointed him as Chairman of the Presidential Fact-Finding Commission to investigate the December 1, 1989 coup attempt in which military rebels meant to oust President Aquino. This presidential commission was tasked to conduct an investigation on the rebellion and the possible involvement of military and civilian officials and private persons. Furthermore, Congress passed Republic Act No. 6832 that enhanced the presidential commission’s power through a broader Fact-Finding Commission to conduct a thorough investigation of the failed coup d’ etat and recommend measures to prevent the occurrence of similar attempts at a violent seizure of power.

Early life and career

The sixth of seven siblings, Davide was born in Barangay Colawin, in Argao, Cebu to Hilario P. Davide, Sr. (1905–2006) a retired Schools Division Superintendent, and Josefa L. Gelbolingo, a former public school teacher.

He completed his primary education at Argao Central Elementary School and secondary education at Abellana Vocational High School. In college, he went to the country’s premier state university, the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City where he earned his Associate in Arts in 1955, his Bachelor of Science in Jurisprudence in 1958, and his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1959. He took and passed the bar examinations given that same year.

From 1959 to 1963, Davide worked as private secretary to the vice-governor and later governor of the province of Cebu.

From 1962 to 1968, he was a faculty member of the College of Law of Southwestern University in Cebu City. This university, three decades later, would confer on him a degree of Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) in 1999.