Guest Speakers’ Profile: Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno (Ret.)

I. PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES:

a. Born on May 17, 1940 in Manila; b. Married to the late LUZVIMINDA T. DELGADO, former Clerk of Court, Supreme Court; c. Blessed with three children and five grandchildren

II. ACADEMIC DEGREE:

a. Undergraduate: 1. Finished Bachelor of Science in Jurisprudence, U.P., 1962; and 2. Finished Bachelor of Laws, U.P., 1962.

b. Graduate: 1. Finished Master of Comparative Laws, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A., 1967; 2. Finished Master of Laws, University of California, Berkeley, California, U.S.A., 1968.

c. Honorary; Doctorate Degrees: 1. Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, given by the Philippine Wesleyan University, April 1994; 2. Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, conferred by Angeles University Foundation, April 20, 2005; 3. Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, conferred by the Bulacan State University, August 30, 2005; 4. Doctor of Philosophy in Law, honoris causa, Hannam University, South Korea, October 26, 2005; 5. Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, conferred by the University of the East, April 18, 2007; 6. Doctor of Public Administration, honoris causa, conferred by the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, May 4, 2007; 7. Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, given by the University of Cebu, March 15, 2008; 8. Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, given by the Central Philippine University, March 30, 2008; and 9. Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, given by Philippine Women’s University, April 11, 2008. 10. Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, Xavier University, Ateneo de Cagayan, March 20, 2009. 11. Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, University of the Philippines, January 11, 2011. 12. Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Silliman University, March 18, 2012.

III. ACADEMIC AND OTHER DISTINCTIONS:

a. As an undergraduate student: 1. Editor-in-Chief, The Philippine Collegian, official weekly student newspaper, U.P., 1960-1961; 2. Chairman, Editorial Board, The Law Register official student newspaper, College of Law, U.P., 1960-1961;

b. As a post graduate student: 1. Grantee, full scholarship given by the Academy of American Law to study the Degree of Master of Comparative Laws (M.C.L.) at the Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas; 2. Grantee, full scholarship given by the Walter Perry Johnson Foundation to study the degree of Master of Laws (LL.M) at the University of California, Berkeley, California; 3. Grantee, tuition scholarship given by the University of Illinois of Champaign, Urbana to study the degree of Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.); 4. Finished the degree of Master of Comparative Laws (M.C.L.), with high honors and as valedictorian of a class consisting of 23 graduate scholars from various parts of the world; 5. Recipient, American Jurisprudence Prize for excellence in Comparative Private International Law given by the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co., of New York and the Bancroft Whitney Publishing Co., of California, 1966-1967; 6. Recipient, American Jurisprudence Prize for excellence in U.S. Constitutional Structure given by the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co. of New York; 7. Recipient, American Jurisprudence Prize for excellence in International Organization given by the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co., of New York and the Bancroft Whitney Publishing Co., of New York and Bancroft Whitney Publishing Co., of California 1966-1967; 8. Recipient, American Jurisprudence Prize for excellence in Problems of Doing Business Abroad given by the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co., of New York and the Bancroft Publishing Co., of California, 1966-1967; 9. Recipient, American Jurisprudence Prize for excellence in Commercial Law given by the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co., of New York and the Bancroft Whitney Publishing Co., of California, 1966-1967; and 10. Granted honorary citizenship by the State of Texas, U.S.A. in 1966.

c. As a professional: 1. Chosen as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines in the field of law, 1977; 2. Bar Examiner in Criminal Law, 1979; Bar Examiner in Mercantile Law, 1989; Bar Examiner in Taxation, 1993; 3. First Filipino Recipient of the Distinguished Global Alumni Award, 2003-2004, given by the Dedman School of Law, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, March 31, 2005; 4. First Filipino to receive the Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award given by the Univ. of California, Berkeley, May 16, 2010; 5. Awardee, Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Award for Nationalism given by the Federation of Catholic Schools Alumni Associations on August 21-22, 2009, on the occasion of the Fourth National Congress on Good Citizenship, De La Salle University, Manila; 6. Recipient Order of Lakandula Award (Bayani) Malacanang Palace, June 12, 2010; 7. UP’s 2008 Most Outstanding Alumnus; 8. Recipient, Araw ng Maynila Award as Outstanding Jurist, June 24, 1987; 9. Chosen as one of the Distinguished Citizens of the Philippines, 1980; 10. Recipient, Sunburst Award, Arellano High School; Outstanding Alumnus, 1995; 11. Ten Outstanding Masons of the Philippines, April 26, 1990; 12. Ulirang Ama Awardee 2005 given by the National Mother’s Day & Father’s Day Foundation of the Philippines, Inc.; 13. Recipient, Lifetime Achievement Awardee of Quezon City on the occasion of the City’s 67th Foundation Day Anniversary; 14. Press Freedom Awardee for 2007 given by the Philippine Association of Publishers; 15. Person of the Year Award for 2007 given by the Manila Times; 16. Newsmaker of the Year 2007 given by Philippine Graphic Magazine; 17. Human Cultural Asset-International Awardee for 2008 given in Seoul, Korea by the World Peace Prize Awarding Council; 18. President Emeritus, PHILCONSA, February 2011; 19. Eminent Resident Scholar UP College of Law 2011; 20. Recipient, Service to Humanity Award given by the Centrist Asia Pacific Democrats Int’l. (CAPDI) & the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC) on September 19, 2011; Phnom Peng, Cambodia and handed by Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia 21. Eminent Fellow, Development Academy of the Philippines.

IV. PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE:

a. Solicitor, Office of the Solicitor General, 1971-1974; b. Acting City Judge, Quezon City Branch II, 1972-1974; c. Assistant Solicitor General, 1974 to November 28, 1982; and on several occasions, Acting Solicitor General; Appointed Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals, June 20, 1980; d. Appointed Deputy Minister of Justice, November 7, 1984; e. Acting Chairman of the Board of Pardons and Parole, February 1985; f. Appointed Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals, August 1, 1986; g. Appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, June 1993; h. Appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, December 6, 2006; Retired, May 17, 2010; i. Appointed Chairman, Consultative Committee to revise the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, January 25, 2018 to present.