The Manila Times has chosen Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno as Person of the Year.
The paper also published today some select quotations from the Chief Justice and his official profile.
The Times made a good choice. With the cooperation of other justices, CJ Puno steered the court to the forefront and coerced the entire government to seriously address long-festering problems of extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and other violations of human rights. Puno’s activist actions highlighted the fascism and repression of de facto President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Here are more links on Puno:
- Curriculum Vitae
- Profile on Benchmark Online, Dec. 2006
- Reynato Puno on Wikipedia
- Old Struggle for Human Rights, New Problems Posed by Security (speech at the University of the East, April 2007)
- Pagbibigay Kabuluhan sa Kalayaang Natamo Noong 1898 (speech at the Bonifacio Monument, Caloocan City, June 2007)
- Kawalang Katarungan sa Pamilya ni Rizal (speech at the Rizal Shrine, Calamba City, June 2007)
- No turning back on human rights (speech at Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Aug. 2007)
- The Role of Media in Establishing a Just Society (speech before the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, Clark Field, Pampanga, Nov. 2007)
- The Writ of Habeas Data (speech before the UNESCO Policy Forum, Pasig City, Nov. 2007)
(Photo courtesy of the Supreme Court website.)