Felix Makasiar

This name uses Philippine naming customs. The middle 2 Supreme Court service
name or maternal family name is Valencia and the
surname or paternal family name is Makasiar. Makasiar served a total of 15 years on the Court,
all within the term of his appointer and law school
[3]
Flix Valencia Makasiar (November 20, 1915 Febru- classmate President Ferdinand E. Marcos. He became
ary 19, 1992) was the 14th Chief Justice of the Supreme chairman of the Judiciary Code Committee, the Vice-
Court of the Philippines, serving in that capacity for four Chairman of the Committee on the Revised Rules of
months in 1985. His 85-day stint as Chief Justice, ab- Court, and the rst chairman of the Sharia bar exami-
breviated only because of the rule requiring mandatory nations inaugurated in 1984.
retirement upon reaching the age of 70, was the second-
shortest such tenure in Philippine history. Prior to his
promotion as Chief Justice, Makasiar had served for 15 2.1 Jurisprudence
years as an Associate Justice.
The most prominent issues during Makasiars tenure on
the Court concerned the validity of the acts of the martial
law regime began by Marcos in 1972. On those issues,
Makasiar had been described as a loyal ally of Marcos
and a consistent supporter of the Presidents New Soci-
ety policies.[3] He was among the Justices who voted to
1 Prole arm the validity of the 1973 Constitution in the semi-
nal case of Javellana v. Executive Secretary, 50 SCRA 33
(1973).[4] More prominently, in Aquino v. COMELEC,
Makasiar was born in Siaton, Negros Oriental on Novem- 62 SCRA 33 (1975), Makasiar wrote for the Court as
ber 20, 1915 to Agustn Makasiar and Petra Valencia. He it denied petitions for prohibition which maintained that
nished his primary and secondary education in his home Marcos, whose original term as President expired 2 years
province. He completed his undergraduate studies at the earlier, held no legal oce nor lawful authority. Rely-
Far Eastern University, and enrolled at the University of ing on Javellana and Aquino v. Ponce-Enrile (which af-
the Philippines College of Law, where he obtained his rmed the validity of the 1972 proclamation of martial
Bachelor of Laws degree, cum laude, in 1939.[1] He later law), Makasiar wrote that Marcos was the de jure incum-
[5]
obtained a Master of Laws degree from the University of bent President of the Philippines.
Santo Tomas. In questions concerning labor law and social justice,
Upon passing the bar in 1939, Makasiar joined the gov- Makasiars opinions for the Court reected sympathies to
ernment service as an attorney with the Department of the common man, and would sometimes resort in rebuke
Justice. He would not leave the government service to injustices as reected by the facts of the case. For ex-
until his retirement from the Supreme Court in 1985. ample, in Carbonell v. CA, 69 SCRA 99(1976), Makasiar
Makasiar rose in the ranks, beginning with a stint with the wrote:
Oce of the Solicitor General, then as a trial court judge
beginning in 1954. He was appointed Solicitor-General Hence, Carbonells prior purchase of the
and Undersecretary of the Department of Justice from land was made in good faith. Her good
1968 to 1970, and as Secretary of Justice from May until faith subsisted and continued to exist when she
August 1970, at which time he was appointed as Asso- recorded her adverse claim four (4) days prior
ciate Justice to the Supreme Court.[2] to the registration of Infantes deed of sale. Car-
bonells good faith did not cease after Poncio
Prior to his appointment to the High Court, Makasiar also told her on January 31, 1955 of his second sale
worked as a law professor in several universities, includ- of the same lot to Infante, Because of that in-
ing the Manuel L. Quezon University and the San Beda formation, Carbonell wanted an audience with
College.[2] Infante, which desire underscores Carbonells
He was married to Teosta F. Santos of Rizal with whom good faith. With an aristocratic disdain unwor-
he had six children: Loreto M. Sicat, Rosella Jean M. thy of the good breeding of a good Christian and
Puno, Barry, Gary, Cynthia and Eleanor Lynn. good neighbor, Infante snubbed Carbonell like

1
2 4 NOTES
a leper and refused to see her. So Carbonell did
the next best thing to protect her right she reg-
istered her adverse claim on February 8, 1955.
Under the circumstances, this recording of her
adverse claim should be deemed to have been
done in good faith and should emphasize In-
fantes bad faith when she registered her deed of
sale four (4) days later on February 12, 1955.[6]
In Menez v. ECC, G.R. L-48488, April 25, 1980, a case
involving the upholding of a teachers compensation due
to occupational disease, Makasiar expounded at length on
the plight of public school teachers:
... Rheumatoid arthritis and pneumonitis
can be considered as such occupational dis-
eases. All public high school teachers, like
herein petitioner, admittedly the most underpaid
but overworked employees of the government,
are subject to emotional strains and stresses,
dealing as they do with intractable teenagers es-
pecially young boys, and harassed as they are
by various extra-curricular or non- academic
assignments, aside from preparing lesson plans
until late at night, if they are not badgered by
very demanding superiors. In the case of the
petitioner, her emotional tension is heightened
by the fact that the high school in which she
teaches is situated in a tough area - Binondo
district, which is inhabited by thugs and other
criminal elements and further aggravated by the
heavy pollution and congestion therein as well
as the stinking smell of the dirty Estero de la
Reina nearby. Women, like herein petitioner,
are most vulnerable to such unhealthy condi-
tions. The pitiful situation of all public school
teachers is further accentuated by poor diet for
they can ill-aord nutritious food. xxx In her
work, petitioner also has to contend with the
natural elements, like the inclement weather
heavy rains, typhoons as well as dust and
disease-ridden surroundings peculiar to an in-
sanitary slum area. xxx These unwholesome
conditions are normal and consistently present
in or are the hazards peculiar to the occu-
pation of a public high school teacher. It is
therefore evident that rheumatoid arthritis and
pneumonitis are the natural incidents of peti-
tioners occupation as such public high school
teacher. xxx It must be borne in mind that peti-
tioner was a teacher of the Raja Soliman High
School which is located in the heart of Binondo
District. She was constantly exposed to the heav-
ily polluted air and congestion (squatters area)
characteristic of the area. She was not only ex-
posed to the elements - varying degrees of tem-
perature throughout the day and night - but also
had to withstand long hours of standing while
performing her teaching job. Likewise, she had
to regularly negotiate long trips from her home
in Project 2, Quirino District, Quezon City (her
residence) to said high school in Binondo, scam-
pering from one ride to another, rain or shine,
and sweating in the process.[7]
2.2 Promotion to Chief Justice
Makasiars appointment as Chief Justice by President
Marcos on July 25, 1985, replacing Enrique Fernando,
was deemed as controversial.[3] Had the tradition of
seniority been observed by Marcos, Claudio Teehankee,
who was appointed to the Court nearly two years prior
to Makasiar, would have been elevated as Chief Justice.
However, Teehankee had constantly voted to nullify the
actions of the martial law regime,[3] in contrast to the
more favorable positions of Makasiar.
During Makasiars brief tenure as Chief Justice, the
Supreme Court issued two notable rulings favorable to
the Marcos government.[8] In Galman v. Pamaran, 138
SCRA 294 (1985), the Court ruled in favor of the de-
fendants in the pending murder trial of Benigno Aquino,
Jr. after they sought the exclusion of their earlier testi-
monies before the Agrava Board previously tasked with
investigating the Aquino assassination.[9] In Ilagan v. En-
rile, 139 SCRA 349(1985), the Court refused to act on
petitions for habeas corpus led in behalf of 3 lawyers
who had been arrested and detained without warrants of
arrest, ruling that the petitions were mooted by the subse-
quent ling of criminal informations for rebellion against
[10]
the lawyers.
3 Retirement and death
Makasiar retired from the Supreme Court upon reaching
the age of 70 in November 1985. He died 7 years later,
on February 19, 1992 in Manila.
4 Notes
[1] Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Vol. III,
p. 61
[2] Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Vol. III,
at 62
[3] Res Gestae, p. 199
[4] Javellana v. Executive Secretary. Retrieved 2007-10-
28.
[5] Aquino v. COMELEC. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
[6] Carbonell v. CA. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
[7] Menez v. ECC. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
 3

[8] Res Gestae, p. 200-201

[9] Galman v. Pamaran. Retrieved 2007-10-28.

[10] Ilagan v. Enrile. Retrieved 2007-10-28.

5 References
Sevilla, Victor J. (1985). Justices of the Supreme
Court of the Philippines Vol. III. Quezon City,
Philippines: New Day Publishers. pp. 6162. ISBN
971-10-0138-1.

Cruz, Isagani; Cynthia Cruz Datu (2000). Res Ges-

tae: A Brief History of the Supreme Court from Arel-
lano to Narvasa. Manila, Philippines: Rex Book
Store. p. 199. ISBN 971-23-2913-5.

Azucena, Cesario (2004). Labor Code of the Philip-

pines Annotated, Vol. 1. Manila, Philippines: Rex
Book Store.

6 External links
Memorabilia Page, Supreme Court of the Philip-
pines E-Library
4 7 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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