Justice Romero Urges Graduates to Fight for Truth
Supreme Court Justice Flerida Ruth P. Romero (ret.) called on graduates of Kalayaan College (literally “Freedom College”) to “cultivate [their] inquiring minds in [their] quest for Truth in the spirit of Freedom” during its 4th commencement exercises held on 26 April 2008.
Justice Romero further stressed that “Freedom is the handmaiden of Truth - the raison d’etre of every educational institution that would flourish and endure.”
She also summarized the active role of the Philippine Supreme Court in instituting judicial safeguards to protect freedom and other human rights enshrined under the Constitution. These include the issuance of new provisions to the Rules of Court pertaining to Petitions for the issuance of a Writ of Amparo and Writ of Habeas Data.
Justice Romero said that the “Writ of Amparo provides a remedy to those whose right to life, liberty and security is violated, or even merely threatened to be violated whether by a public official or a private individual” while the Writ of Habeas Data “is now becoming a powerful instrument not only to guarantee the right to privacy but also the right to truth since families of disappeared persons can use it to obtain information concerning government conduct to learn the fate of disappeared persons and exact accountability”.
Justice Romero was an Associated Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court from 1991 to 1999, and has the distinction of being the first Filipino to be appointed Judge of the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization in Geneva from 2000-2005.
Kalayaan College was established by officers of the University of the Philippines (”U.P.”), led by former UP President Dr. Jose V. Abueva. CFA Law acts as legal counsel for the College with Atty. Co as its Corporate Secretary.