MALACAÑAN PALACE
MANILA
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
[ Proclamation No. 127, June 28, 1999 ]
DECLARING 1999 AS THE CENTENNIAL YEAR OF THE BIRTH OF THE FIRST FILIPINO COLLEGE OF LAW – THE MANILA LAW COLLEGE (ORIGINALLY NAMED ESCUELA DE DERECHO DE MANILA)
WHEREAS, the Philippine Congress meeting in Malolos, Bulacan, adopted and approved in 1898 the Constitution of the New Republic of the Philippines to put into action the first democracy in Asia;
WHEREAS, the author of the Malolos Constitution, Dr. Felipe G. Calderon, himself a lawyer, opened and established the first Filipino College of Law in the Philippines, and became the first dean of the school bearing the original name of Escuela de Derecho de Manila, later named as the Manila Law College (MLC);
WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper that the Filipino nation at large should feel proud as the first country in Asia to adopt and proclaim a Constitution of its own making which today, or 100 years thereafter, shines in the wisdom of principles and policies reflected in the subsequent Constitutions up to the present;
WHEREAS, the wisdom, statesmanship, craftsmanship of the various articles of the Constitution compare favorably with other foreign Constitutions;
WHEREAS, the Manila Law College for the past 100 years has produced hundreds of distinguished alumni who commendably served and are still serving in the three branches of government as well as in private entities and national organizations;
WHEREAS, the observance of this MLC Centennial Year would be an opportune time to launch an information campaign on the importance of the Constitution in the life of a democracy and the role of legal education in preserving a constitutional government considering that every oath-taking, be it for public or private officialdom, carries a pledge to support the Constitution demonstrating the truth that in every fiber of our existence is anchored on our bill of rights and human rights as citizens.1aшphi1
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, by virtue of the authority vested in me by law, do hereby proclaim the year 1999 as the Centennial Year of the establishment and birth of the Manila Law College (formerly Escuela de Derecho de Manila) and enjoin public and private schools and all institutions of higher learning, particularly the colleges of law, to participate in the celebration of the Malolos Constitution and for all government offices led by the Supreme Court and the Department of Justice to sponsor appropriate programs and activities to impress upon the people the vital role of the Constitution in the preservation of our democratic way of life.
Done in the City of Manila, this 28th day of JUNE, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and ninety nine.
(Sgd.) JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA
By the President:
(Sgd.) RONALDO B. ZAMORA
Executive Secretary
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