THE UNIVERSITY conferred on former Civil Law Dean and retired Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Jose Feria a Doctor of Laws degree, honoris causa, last Feb. 22 at the Medicine Auditorium.
Feria received the honorary degree because of his numerous contributions to law—as a member of the Constitutional Convention that drafted the 1973 Constitution and as SC associate justice.
“As Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, (Feria) penned landmark decisions, (which were) bolstered by his impeccable integrity and honesty, thus strengthening and ensuring the trust and confidence of the people in the high court as the last bastion of democracy,” UST Rector Fr. Tamerlane Lana, O.P. said.
Ferio graduated summa cum laude from the UST Faculty of Civil Law in 1940 and became a member of the Philippine bar in December of the same year. He taught in the Faculty from 1940 to 1986. He was as Dean from 1979 to1985.
“In addition to my duty of upholding the law of the land, I have tried to obey the commands of Christ and the gospel. Clearly, obedience to the words of Christ is essential to the administration of justice in our hearts,” Feria said in his acceptance speech.
In April 1986, Pres. Corazon Aquino appointed him as SC magistrate. He retired from the judiciary in January 1987 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.
“Justice Feria has given us an example of selfless and dedicated public service with no thought of material reward,” Civil Law Dean Justice Jaime Lantin said. Teodoro Lorenzo A. Fernandez
