SENATORS at the weekend mourned the passing of Jesuit intellectual Fr. Joaquin Bernas, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, hailing his work in democratic restoration and in raising a new generation of lawyers with a strong sense of social justice.
Sen. Joel Villanueva depicted Bernas as “a man for others,” saying his passing, “brings sadness to the countless whose lives he touched,” even as it also “gives us the chance to celebrate his life.”
While Bernas “may be best remembered as one of the brilliant minds that crafted our present Constitution,” the senator said, “he did more than just help a fledgling democracy stand on strong legal foundations.”
Villanueva recalled that as a mentor to many who dreamed of practicing law in a country beset by many cases of lawlessness, “Father Bernas helped shape an army of men and women who saw the law not as a toy to be played with but as a tool to render justice.”
Villanueva continued that “as a fellow Christian, Fr. Bernas stood strong in his faith to serve as an example to many others who are barely clinging to theirs, showing in an often unassuming way that faith is always stronger than doubt.”
For his part, opposition Senator Francis Pangilinan mourned the loss of “this amazing patriot, constitutionalist, and man for others.”
Pangilinan recalled “he was a law lecturer for Ateneo’s Department of Management and part of the Ateneo academic community for seven years beginning 1993. By that time, Fr. Bernas had finished his term as ADMU president.”
Because of Bernas and his fellow Con-Com delegates, the senator added, “we have a Constitution that is pro-God, pro-Filipino, and pro-poor. We have a Constitution which specifies our duties as public servants, a Constitution by which we take our oath of office, a Constitution which we swear to preserve and defend.”
Moreover, Pangilinan credited Bernas with helping shape “a Constitution that promises social justice for every Filipino family. His death reminds us of the urgency of delivering on this promise.”
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