Constitutionalist Fr. Joaquin Bernas dies at 88
By CBCP News
March 6, 2021
Manila, Philippines
Jesuit priest and noted constitutionalist Father Joaquin Bernas died at age 88.
Bernas died at the Jesuit residence at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City early Saturday morning.
His death came two days after he was discharged from a hospital where he was admitted for more than a month due to an “infection”.
“Fr. Bernie has been diagnosed with an infection that will need about six weeks of treatment,” Fr. Emmanuel Alfonso of Jesuit Communications told Radio Veritas.
Bernas finished law at the Ateneo Law School in 1962 and placed 9th in the Bar examinations.
He taught and was appointed dean twice of the same law school until his retirement in 2004.
The Ateneo Law School mourned the passing of Bernas who kept the institution “true to its identity and calling”.
“The Ateneo Law School’s debt of gratitude to Fr. Bernas can never truly be fully repaid,” said its current dean Jose Maria Holifeña.
The school has also named an institute for continuing legal education after Bernas.
The priest was part of the Constitutional Commission, which drafted the 1987 Constitution.
Bernas also served as ADMU president and was an opinion columnist for a major daily newspaper.
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