Justice Leonor Ines Luciano, 91

Justice Leonor Ines Luciano has gone ahead of us, leaving us unforgettable stories about the splendid life she lived helping others to have better lives. She would have been 92 years old this coming May 8. Her remains are at the Mt. Carmel Church in New Manila, and will be cremated tomorrow, May 4. The throng of visitors at the chapel and the wreaths sent by former presidents and important government, political, and people from all walks of life are a testimony to her warmth and generosity, her selflessness, and caring nature. Her physical presence will be sorely missed, but memories will happily remain forever ensconced in her many beneficiaries’ hearts.

 Since her demise Friday, April 29, prayer vigils and masses have been held, with priests, relatives and friends singing paeans to the former Court of Appeals justice. This afternoon, from 2 to 5, prayers and reminiscences will be sponsored by women’s groups, led by the Women’s Study Center of the University of the Philippines, the Philippine Commission on Women, the Ugnayan ng Kababaihang Pilipino, the Asian Women’s Network on Gender and Development, the Banahaw Sustainable Development Center, and the Quezon City Gender and Development Resource Coordinating Office (QCGadrco). A necrological service will be held from 6 to 8:30 tonight.

There’s so much to be said, and too little space to say why the late justice was/is an icon. But let me mention two women whom she paid special attention to: Ruby Palma, head of QCGadrco, and Daphne Roxas, of UKP, AWN, and Banahaw Sustainable Development Center. Their organizations are focused on helping elevate women’s status, and give them livelihood training skills. Anytime these two called on the justice, the justice would give not only financial assistance but also chair the organizations.

Leonor was born on May 8, 1919 in Manila, one of seven children to the well-respected US-trained hydraulics and civil engineer Leon Ines and businesswoman Maria Resurreccion. She was a top law student at the University of the Philippines (Class ’41), was a Sigma Delta Phi Sorority member, was engaged in private law practice, and, in 1944, married a personable haciendero, from Maga-lang, Pampanga, Aristides Luciano, and gave him five children — Ma. Eloisa, Victor Jose (now president and CEO of Clark (Diosdado Macapagal) International Airport, Judith, Andresito and Clementina. Devoted to her husband and children, she found time for endeavors and excelling in them, as school teacher, then rice farmer, then as judge of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, then  associate justice of the Court of Appeals, and, upon her retirement, as sectoral representative in the 9th and 10th Congress.

The well-researched biography Woman Empowered, The Advocacy of Leonor Ines Luciano written by Perla Aragon Choudhury records the seemingly endless endeavors and achievements of Justice Luciano. Her commitment to help women and rural youth was evident in the ’50s, when, through the Rural Improvement Club and 4H, she taught them self-reliance and through cooperatives and starting of businesses producing and selling homemade food made from backyard-grown ingredients.

An incidental, but amazing episode in her life was her winning the title, “Woman Farmer of the Year” in the ’50s, the award given by no less than the late President Ramon Magsaysay. It seems unbelievable that a fragile-looking and pretty housewife would, hands-on, learn the rudiments of farming, and then producing more than 100 cavans of rice in one hectare, when the usual produce (by male farmers, mind you), had been from 15 to 20 cavans only.

Her concern for women’s legal rights actually began when she was a junior associate in the office of then Atty. Ferdinand Marcos, and she handled a deluge number of divorce complaints. She found the divorce law, instituted by the Japanese government then, to be sufficient, but the ill effects of divorce on the children and families depressed her, and she moved on to another firm. Later, in the ’80s, she would become actively involved in the amendment of the Family Code, which lifted discriminatory provisions that incapacitated women seeking an end to incapacitating marriages.

An interesting development was in the area of population management. Leonor was president of the Catholic Women’s League when it fouled up the Philippine Population Commission’s campaign by carrying on a media blitz against the selling of condoms over the sari-sari store counter. Years later, in July 1993, Leonor said the stand of the National Council of Women of the Philippines of which she was head, was, “. . . considering the diverse pluralism of our membership, we agree not to impose our beliefs on others except when the latter’s are beyond ethics, morals, and the law. Thus, we respect each one’s freedom of conscience, an informed conscience – knowing what is right and what is wrong.”

Much talked about as a model was the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court that Leonor became head of upon the endorsement of Judge Corazon Agrava, a close friend of hers, to head the JDRC of Quezon City. In November 1967, she was sworn into office by her former mentor, President Marcos. She instituted workshops and dialogues with the Department of Social Welfare and the city’s police department and held workshops for the police, prosecutors and judges to improve the handling of juvenile offender cases.

She also established the Molave Youth Home to prevent the contact of minors with hardened criminals in jail and to provide them with training on how to be moral, productive, and upright citizens.

Many are the late justice’s awards. She said she specially treasured the “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” cross that she received from Pope Paul VI in 1975 and the Mother Teresa Award in 2001. Her latest award, for sure treasured by her, is the Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award given by the University of the Philippines during its centennial celebration in 2008.

After her retirement from the judiciary, Justice Luciano was appointed by President Fidel V. Ramos as the sectoral representative for women. Her biography notes that as a two-term legislator, she engaged in oversight functions, mainstreaming all existing policies and legislation, and drafted amendments and new laws resulting in more equality and developmental rights for women. She likewise drafted laws against trafficking domestic violence, and work discrimination, as well as for the protection of OFWs and their families. She also worked for the return of juvenile and family courts to upegrade the treatment of youth cases and family issues.

Up to her last dwindling days, Justice Luciano was still up on her toes, fragile though her knees had become, to attend meetings and give speeches. One of her treasured organizations whose functions she never failed to attend, is the Philippines National Red Cross, of which she was national chairman, and whose chairman, former Sen. Richard Gordon, she considered a loving son.

In his foreword in Justice Luciano’s biography, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno writes: “Justice Luciano perfectly exemplifies a woman who has not wasted a single moment as she attempts to pay forward and improve the world. She is a paragon of firmness of character and true benevolence.”

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