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MANILA, Philippines – Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra remembered the late Constitutionalist and veteran lawyer Fr. Joaquín Bernas on Saturday as the “epitome of the classic Jesuit scholastic.”
“Father Bernas was the epitome of the classic Jesuit scholastic,” Guevarra, a student at Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), said of Bernas in a text message to reporters. Bernas passed away early Saturday. He was 88 years old.
“His masterful work on constitutional law is a required reading for all law students of the Athenaeum,” he added. “To this day, Fr. Bernas continues to guide me through his masterpiece.”
The head of the Department of Justice (DOJ) also described Bernas as “like many Jesuits, he was a man of the world.”
“He did not live in an ivory tower. He was accessible and accommodating to everyone, he could participate in a lively discussion on any topic (especially with a glass of whiskey) and with a great sense of humor, “said Guevarra.
“As an attorney, he was reborn in St. Thomas More.”
And although he was not a student of Bernas, Guevarra said that he had the opportunity to work with him after becoming a teacher at the Ateneo Law School.
In addition to being one of the drafters of the 1987 Constitution, Bernas also served as president of the ADMU from 1984 to 1993 and was dean emeritus of the Ateneo’s Law School.
/ MUF
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