1. PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES

 

Born on May 17, 1940 in Manila;

Married to the former LUZVIMINDA T. DELGADO, Clerk of Court, Supreme Court;

Blessed with three children: Reynato, Jr., married to Cherryl Mae H. Yap; Emmanuel, married to Rachel Catherine Fabreo; Ruth, born on April 15, 1981

 

2. ACADEMIC DEGREE

 

A. Undergraduate

·          Finished Bachelor of Science in Jurisprudence, U.P., 1962;

·          Finished Bachelor of Laws, U.P., 1962.

 

B. Graduate

·          Finished Master of Comparative Laws, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A., 1967

·          Finished Master of Laws, University of California, Berkeley, California, U.S.A., 1968;

·          Finished all academic requirements of the degree of Doctor of Judicial Science, University of Illinois, Champaign, Urbana, U.S.A., 1969

 

C. Honorary

·          Doctor of Humanities given by the Philippine Wesleyan University, April 1994

·          Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa conferred by Angeles University Foundation, April 20, 2005

 

3. ACADEMIC AND OTHER DISTINCTIONS

 

A. As an undergraduate student:

·          Editor-in-Chief, The Philippine Collegian, official weekly student newspaper, U.P., 1960-1961;

·          Chairman, Editorial Board, The Law Register, official student newspaper, College of Law, U.P., 1960-1961;

·          Recent Documents Editor, the Philippine Law Journal, official law journal, College of Law, U.P., 1961-1962;

·          Asst. Editor-in-Chief, the 1962 Philippinensian, official graduate annual, U.P., 1961;

·          Recipient, Outstanding Student Award for Excellence and Leadership given by the Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity of the U.P. College of Law, 1960, 1961, and 1962.

 

B. As a post graduate student

·          Grantee, full scholarship given by the Academy of American Law to study the Degree of  Master of Comparative Laws (M.C.L.) at the Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas;

·          Grantee, full scholarship given by the Walter Perry Johnson Foundation to study the degree of Master of Laws (LL.M) at the University of California, Berkeley, California;

·          Grantee, tuition scholarship given by the University of Illinois of Champaign, Urbana to study the degree of Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.);

·          Finished the degree of Mister of Comparative Laws (M.C.L.), with high honors and as valedictorian of a class consisting of 23 graduate scholars from various parts of the world;

·          Recipient, American Jurisprudence Prize for excellence in Comparative Private International Law given by the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co., of New York and the Bancroft Whitney Publishing Co., of California, 1966-1967;

·          Recipient, American Jurisprudence Prize for excellence in U.S. Constitutional Structure given by the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co., of New York and the Bancroft Whitney Publishing Co., of California, 1966-1967;

·          Recipient, American Jurisprudence Prize for excellence in International Organization given by the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co., of New York and the Bancroft Whitney Publishing Co., of California, 1966-1967;

·          Recipient, American Jurisprudence Prize for excellence in Problems of Doing Business Abroad given by the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co., of New York and the Bancroft Whitney Publishing Co., of California, 1966-1967;

·          Recipient, American Jurisprudence Prize for excellence in Commercial Law given by the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co., of New York and the Bancroft Whitney Publishing Co., of California, 1966-1967;

·          Granted honorary citizenship by the State of Texas, U.S.A. in 1966

 

C. As a Professional

·          Chosen as one of the Outstanding Men (TOYM) of the Philippines in the field of law, 1977;

·          Chosen as one of the Outstanding Alumni of the Alpha Phi Beta Law, Alumni, U.P. College of Law, 1975;

·          Elected Co-Chairman of the World Section of Prosecutors, 8^th Manila World Law Conference of the World Peace Thru Law Center;

·          Represented the Philippines in the legal Congress on the Court Defense of the State Administration sponsored by the Advocate General of Italy in Rome, 1976;

·          Delegate, International Law Association Conference, Manila, 1978;

·          Lecturer, U.P. Law Center, Institute of Judicial Administration; professor of Law, F.E.U., 1969-1973;

·          Bar Examiner in Criminal Law, 1979; Bar Examiner in Mercantile Law, 1989, Bar Examiner in Taxation, 1993;

·          Recipient, Araw ng Maynila Award as Outstanding Jurist, June 24, 1987;

·          Chosen as one of the Distinguished Citizens of the Philippines, 1980;

·          Chosen as one of the Outstanding Residents of Quezon City and included in its Honor Roll, 1979;

·          Recipient, Certificate of Recognition, Province of Pampanga for Outstanding Public Service in the Judiciary, 1987;

·          Recipient , Sunburst Award, Arellano High School, Outstanding Alumnus, 1995;

·          Ten Outstanding Masons of the Philippines, April 26, 1990;

·          Chairman, Committee of the Supreme Court digesting its Decisions for distribution to Members of the Judiciary;

·          Chairman, Committee on Revision of the Rules of Court, 1999 up to the present which drafted the Rules of Criminal Procedure (2000), Child Witness Rule, Rules on Rehabilitation of Corporations; Rules on Intra-Corporate Disputes; Rules on Family Courts; Rule on Commitment of Children; Rule on Adoption, Rule on Declaration of Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages; Rule on Legal Separation; Rule on Provisional Orders; and Rule on Violence Against Women and Their Children;

·          Chairman, Raffle Committee (En Banc Cases) 1999 up to present;

·          Working Chairman, First Division, Supreme Court up to May 29, 2002;

·          Chairman, Court Systems Journal of the Supreme Court;

·          Editorial Consultant, Journal of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines;

·          Outstanding Alumnus, UP College of Law, 1996;

·          Grand Cross Award, (March 1998) highest award of the Supreme Council 33 Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of the Republic of the Philippines;

·          Grand Lodge Gold Medal, (April 1998) highest award of the Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of the Republic of the Philippines;

·          Grand Cross of Rizal, (1998) highest award of Order of the Knights of Rizal;

·          UP’s Most Outstanding Law Alumnus 1997;

·          Delegate, UN Judicial Colloquium on the Application of International Human Rights Law at the Domestic Level, Vienna, Austria, October 27, 1999;

·          Delivered paper on Role of Courts in Protecting Environment in UNEP sponsored conference, Bangkok, Thailand, January 31-February 1, 2001;

·          Headed the Philippine Delegation of Judges to observe Commercial Courts in Sydney, Australia, March 2001;

·          Headed Philippine delegation to the Symposium on Enforcement of Intellectual property Rights and patent Litigation sponsored by the European Patent Office, Munich, Germany, September 10-14, 2001;

·          Read papers on (1) Jurisdiction, categories of cases and Standing to Sue; (2) Standards and Scope of Judicial Review; and (3) Remedies, ADRs and Access to Information at the Conference on Administrative Law and Environmental Protection, sponsored by the Office of the Administrative Courts of Thailand and the US-Asia Environmental Partnership held on December 7-8, 2001 at Bangkok, Thailand;

·          Delegate, International Forum for Training of the Judiciary, Jerusalem, Israel, March 2002

·          Participated in Judicial Administration and Reform Course held in Sydney, Australia from June 2-21, 2002 sponsored by the International Development Law Institute (IDLI);

·          Participated, together with Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr., in the Round Table Meeting of Chief Justices to Review the Draft Universal Declaration of Judicial Standards under the auspices of the United Nations Center for International Crime Prevention held at The Hague, Netherlands in November 25-27, 2002;

·          Presented Philippine paper in First Seminar of Asian Constitutional Court, September 8-9, 2003, Jakarta, Indonesia;

·          Centennial Awardee in the filed of law given by the United Methodist Church on the occasion of its 100^th Anniversary, Philippine Wesleyan University, 1999;

·          Certificate of Recognition, 90^th Founding Anniversary of the UP College of Law, January 12, 2001;

·          Chairman, 1994 Board of Judges TOYM;

·          Voted as the Most Outstanding Jurist Activist by the Consumers’ Union of the Philippines, July 4, 2003;

·          Delivered paper on Election Disputes: waste of Means or Constitutional Necessity in the Second Regional Seminar of Asian Constitutional Court Judges, march 31-April 2, 2004, Bangkok, Thailand;

·          First Filipino Recipient of the Distinguished Global Alumni Award, 2003-2004, given by the Dedman School of Law, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, March 31, 2005;

·          Has written numerous legal articles published in law journals.

  

4. PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

·          Assistant Attorney, Gerardo Roxas and Abraham F. Sarmineto Law Office, 1962-1963;

·          Tax Attorney; Joint Legislative and Executive Tax Commission, 1963-1967;

·          Partner, Puno Law Office, 1969-1971;

·          Solicitor, Office of the Solicitor General, 1971-1974;

·          Acting City Judge, Quezon City Brach II, 1972-1974;

·          Assistant Solicitor General, 1974 to November 28, 2982; and on several occasions, Acting Solicitor General;

·          Appointed Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals, June 20, 1980;

·          Reappointed Appellate Justice of the Intermediate Appellate Court (First Special Division), January 2983;

·          Appointed Deputy Minister of Justice, November 7, 1984 and on several occasions as Acting Secretary of Justice;

·          Acting Chairman of the Board of Pardons and Parole, February 1985;

·          Appointed Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals, August 1, 1986;

·          Appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, June 1993;

·          Member, House Electoral Tribunal, 1998-1999;

·          Member, Senate Electoral Tribunal, 1999-2002;

·          Member, Presidential Electoral Tribunal;

·          Chairman, House Electoral Tribunal, May 30, 2002;

·          Chairman, Third Division of the Supreme Court, May 30, 2002;

·          Chairman, Second Division of the Supreme Court, November 2003;

·          Chairman, Senate Electoral Tribunal, November 2003 to present

 

5.  CIVIC AND CHURCH AFFILIATIONS

·          Lay Preacher, United Methodist Church; present Chairman of the Administrative Council, Puno Memorial United Methodist Church; past Chairman of the Administrative Board of the Knox United Methodist Church, the biggest and oldest Methodist Church in the Philippines;

·          Chairman, Board of Trustees, Judge Isaac S. Puno, Jr. Memorial Foundation, a 19-year old non-governmental organization that sponsors more than 100 scholars in various universities and schools in Metro Manila;

·          Elected Sovereign Grand Commander, Supreme Council of the S.G.I.G. of the thirty-third and last degree, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of the Philippines (1991-1994);

·          Elected Grandmaster, Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted masons of the Philippines, (1984);

§          Knights of Rizal;

§          Integrated Bar of the Philippines;

§          UP Law Alumni;

·          Alpha Phi Beta Alumni