Former SC justice Griño-Aquino, 89

MANILA, Philippines - Retired Supreme Court (SC) associate justice Carolina Griño-Aquino died on Christmas Eve after a lingering illness. She was 89.

Her daughter Carmen Aquino-Sarmiento said the retired magistrate died at 3 a.m.

Born on Oct. 22, 1923, Griño-Aquino served in the SC from Feb. 2, 1988 to Oct. 22, 1993 after her husband, chief justice Ramon Aquino, had left the High Court.

An appointee of the late former President Corazon Aquino, she was the fourth woman named to the SC after justices Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera, and Irene Cortes. Prior to her appointment to the SC, she was presiding justice of the Court of Appeals (CA).

Griño-Aquino topped the 1950 Bar with a grade of 92.02 percent. She obtained her Liberal Arts degree magna cum laude from the Colegio de San Agustin in Iloilo and her law degree from the University of the Philippines.

After her retirement from the Court, she served as the first chair of the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Committee. The SC had also designated her to conduct several administrative investigations, including the Bar leakage in 2003 and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines elections in 2009.

She also chaired the fact-finding panel that investigated alleged bribery by the fiscal that handled the “Alabang Boys” case in 2009.

Even after retirement, the magistrate was known for reciting the SC’s history, from memory, during special events in the High Court.

Griño-Aquino’s wake is being held at her home in Sta. Mesa Heights, Quezon City. Interment is set on Dec. 29.