PRESIDENT’S REPORT
10 June 2011

For and in behalf of the association, I am pleased to report on the various activities that the APBAR undertook from its inception in 2009 up to this year.

APBAR is a very young association having organized itself in 2009. Its youth however did not prevent it from participating in the raging issues of the day.

Since January 2009, APBAR called for public support to the then Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno when he was threatened by impeachment due to a controversial farewell decision of one Associate Justice as a consequence of an electoral dispute in the House of Representatives. The Chief Justice had to halt the promulgation of the controversial decision as it did not have the assent of the majority of the court although most of them indicated their concurrence in the results but not in the substance of the decision. This caught the ire of the aggrieved party, and polluted the press with the call for the impeachment of the Chief Justice, against the backdrop of charter change.

Also in 2009, the APBAR made known its opposition to the charter change initiatives of the House of Representatives forged at the last day of the last congressional session last year. The APBAR also deplored the martial law proclamation for the province of Maguindanao via the proclamation no. 1959.

The retirement of Chief Justice Puno last 2010 had spawned a lot of debate on the constitutionality of the appointment of his successor. In a letter to the Judicial and Bar Council, the APBAR called for a sober debate on the independence and the mandate of the said council, and urged the council to seek judicial relief and guidance from the Supreme Court, so that the constitutional processes be played out, and not be muted by the disparate constitutional opinions and campaigns in the tri-media and street protests. It is also in 2010 that the APBAR published a call for sobriety in the light of the discordant voices over the Supreme Court decision affirming the power of the then-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to appoint the successor of Chief Justice Puno, cautioning the members of the Philippine Bar not to burn the institution that is the sole repository of judicial power.

In the May 2010 elections, in the electoral front, the APBAR has supported the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) through its volunteer lawyers and legal assistance on electoral reforms, and the initiatives of Libertas for continuing education on the automated election system. Through the PPCRV and the Libertas, the APBAR achieved its objective to promote the rule of law. We invited COMELEC Commissioner Rene V. Sarmiento, a distinguished constitutional law professor himself as guest speaker in the well-attended APBAR Public Forum, to speak on electoral disputes under the Automated Electoral System.

Last December 2010, the APBAR conducted the First APBAR University Lecture Series held at the Faculty of Civil Law, University of Santo Tomas (UST), Manila, wherein we had Senator Francis G. Escudero and Justice Raul B. Villanueva as guest speakers. The lecture was very much welcomed by the UST administration and the students, particularly Political Science, and Law students.

In coordination with Atty. Ramon S. Esguerra, the APBAR also conducted the ‘Luntian Immanuel Golf Tournament,’ a fund-raising event, at Arnold Palmer Course, Orchard Golf and Country Club, Dasmariñas City, Cavite last February 18, 2011.This event was launched to support the activities of the Center for Environmental Law and Protection, a joint project inspired by Senator Francis G. Escudero and former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno.

Lastly, we also wish to inform you of the of the recently concluded ‘MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) Signing’ between the APBAR and the ALSP held at Baguio City last April 26, 2011. The APBAR took part in the ALSP’s 22nd National Convention by sponsoring the ALSP’s Souvenir Program, having the MOA signing, and having a short speaking-engagement with the delegates of the ALSP.

The APBAR will soon be implementing projects, and academic lectures involving the knowledge and rule of law among others, in cooperation with the ALSP. We look forward to forming alliances and working with other organizations here in the Philippines.

It has been three fruitful years of being the President of the APBAR, and I want to thank you all for the support that you have given.

ROBERTO RAFAEL V. LUCILA
President
Asia Pacific Bar Association

NEWS FLASH

Support Continues to Pour in for Chief Justice Puno
January 22, 2009

With even former President Fidel V. Ramos appealing to the public to spare Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno from politics, more justices and more court, bar, and employee organizations took the cudgels for the chief justice as they warned an erosion of the public’s faith in the Judiciary following alleged moves to oust him through the filing of an impeachment complaint.
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