Justice Cecilia Muñoz-Palma was born on November 22, 1913 in Bauan, Batangas. Her father was a former congressman of Batangas. She was intellectually gifted and topped all her classes in all levels. She was the high school class valedictorian of St. Scholastica’s College in 1931. She was the first woman to be elected president of the UP Student Council of the College of Law in 1936. She won gold medals in debate and oratory. She was awarded the coveted Dr. Mendoza-Guanzon medal for excellence in oratory, as well as the Justice Abad Santos medal as outstanding debater.
She earned her law degree at the University of the Philippines and placed No. 1 in the Bar Examinations of 1937, only the second woman bar topnotcher after former Senator Tecla San Andres Ziga, also of UP, in 1931. She completed her Master of Laws degree from Yale Law School. As a female lawyer, she established many “firsts” in our legal history—the first woman prosecutor of Quezon City in 1947 and the first female RTC Judge. She was the second woman appointed to the Court of Appeals. In 1973, she was the first female appointed as associate justice of the Supreme Court (SC).
She was named to the SC on October 29, 1973 by President Ferdinand Marcos. She was one of the independent members of the highest court. She rendered dissenting opinions that were critical of the regime and strongly opposed the abuses of the martial law government. In Aquino v. Comelec, GR L-40004, January 31, 1975, criticizing the referendum conducted to ratify the 1973 Constitution, Justice Muñoz-Palma held that “a referendum under martial rule can be of no far-reaching significance as it is accomplished under an atmosphere or climate of fear as it entails a wide area of curtailment and infringement of individual rights…. This is a matter of grave concern which necessitates full, mature, and sober deliberation of the people but which they can do only in a climate of freedom without the restraints of martial law.” She proposed the lifting of martial law instead of allowing then President Marcos to propose amendments to the Constitution. She reiterated this in Peralta v. Comelec, et al., GR L-47771, March 11, 1978, where she stated: “The only possible measure that can lead our country to normalcy is the lifting and ending of the state of martial rule…” In yet another dissent, she renounced martial law in strongest terms by asserting that “martial law connotes power of the gun, meant coercion by the military, and compulsion and intimidation.” Together with Justice Claudio Teehankee, and sometimes joined by Justice Jose Abad Santos, Justice Palma challenged the decisions that affirmed the decrees and orders of President Marcos during the perilous years of martial law. Her numerous dissents stood out in stark contrast to the fawning opinions of her male colleagues who were subservient to power.
After her SC stint, she continued her opposition to Marcos and refused to be cowed by the authoritarian regime. Her soft but brave voice had rallied and inspired the political opposition forces, which was galvanized by the assassination of Ninoy Aquino in 1983. Together with other prominent anti-Marcos personalities like Senators Doy Laurel and Gerry Roxas, she sought to unify all opposition elements. This eventually led to the formation of the United Nationalist Democratic Organization initially co-chaired by Senator Gerry Roxas and Speaker Jose Laurel, Jr. In the 1984 election for the members of the Batasang Pambansa, Justice Muñoz-Palma ran as an assemblywoman under the UNIDO banner. She led the opposition slate in Quezon City and succeeded in electing three members of the opposition—Orlando Mercado, Alberto Romulo and herself. On August 13,1985, 56 opposition members, including Justice Muñoz-Palma, signed a resolution impeaching the president for graft, high crimes and abuse of power but it was rejected by the majority of the 183 members of the National Assembly. Although outnumbered, Justice Muñoz-Palma was undaunted in her efforts to protect the interest of her people against the tyranny of authoritarian rule. She served in the unicameral legislature from June 30,1984 to March 25,1986 when it was dissolved by Proclamation No. 3 issued by President Cory Aquino, otherwise known as the 1986 Freedom Constitution. She was one of the influential leaders who was instrumental in convincing the housewife Cory Aquino to challenge Marcos and run for the presidency in the snap election of 1986. When the Constitutional Commission was created by President Cory Aquino after the Edsa revolution, Justice Muñoz-Palma was appointed as one of its members. She was later elected by her peers as its Chairperson and led the drafting of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which the framers completed in record time. The current 1987 Philippine Constitution that remains in force up to now is a testament of her leadership and dedication. During her presidency, President Cory named Justice Muñoz-Palma as a member of the Council of State, the highest consultative body to the president. At the age of 85, Justice Muñoz-Palma was appointed as chairman and general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office by President Joseph Estrada. This was her last official government position, which she served with utmost dedication.
She died on January 2, 2006 at the age of 92. In 2009 after her death, the International Women’s Forum inducted Justice Muñoz- Palma into its International Hall of Fame, a distinct honor conferred only to a woman of great substance and distinction. She lived a long life but every minute of it was spent in the service of her country and its people. In retrospect, let us take comfort from her dissent in Sanidad and Sanidad v. Comelec, et al. where she acknowledged the risk of crossing swords with the majority of the Court and the powers-that-be when she wrote: “Generally one who dissents from a majority view of the Court takes a lonely and at times precarious road, the burden being lightened only by the thought that in this grave task of administering justice, when matters of conscience are at issue, one must be prepared to espouse and embrace a rightful cause however unpopular it may be.” In all her years at the SC, she never wavered nor balked to thread that lonely and precarious road.