"The College of Law military unit which passed in review before President Villamor, Justice Malcolm, former Dean of the College of Law, Acting Dean Bocobo and Major Tharp of the Philippine Constabulary, was one of the attractions of the day. First Lieutenant Adduru of the Philippine National Guard who is in charge of the College of Law unit was in command. The good showing of the law unit evoked words of praise from the President of the University and served as a tangible proof of how much military science has prospered in the University".

FRESHMAN SPREAD

From the Varsity News of Dec. 15:

"Acting Dean Bocobo, Attorney Yamzon and other members of the faculty of the College of Law were the guests of the Freshies at their annual spread. Following the abundant repast speeches were delivered by the president of the class, Cecilio Putong, Attorney Yamzon, Mr. Bengson and Dean Bocobo. Among other things, the Acting Dean of the College of Law expressed his interest in doing his bit in shaping the destinies and forming the rising generation, hence his interest in his present work which he said he would not quit for any other more lucrative work."

LAW FORUM LECTURES

Judge George R. Harvey of the Court of First Instance of Manila lectured before the Law Forum, Saturday night Dec. 1. The subject discussed was "The Lawyer Before the Court Room":

"Always respect the court of which you are an officer, because that which adds to the honor of the court adds to your own.

"It is a great mistake to believe that no preparation is needed to conduct the direct examination.

"The rule that the lawyer should not ask leading questions in the direct examination is simple but hard in its application.

"Lawyers ought to bear in mind that good temper is essential to success in the court room.

"Continuous ungrounded objections produce in the mind of the court a bad impression of the lawyer so making them."

These are some of the very important and useful ideas imparted to the audience by the simple but impressive language of the lecturer.

The next Law Forum lecture was delivered on Dec. 7, by Judge Charles S. Lobingier of the United States Consular Court of Shanghai.

He spoke on the German Civil Code, the need felt for its codification, the events that made it possible, the different steps taken for its approval and promulgation and the general acceptation it has met with in the world of jurisprudence. This lecture was supplemented by another one delivered before the post-graduates taking the study of comparative law and the seniors. The parts of the code and some of its important provisions were then discussed and compared with the parts and provisions of our civil code.

LAW REPRESENTATIVE WINS UNIVERSITY ORATORICAL CONTEST

The first intercollegiate oratorical contest took place at the Normal School Auditorium as the concluding part of the series of events held on University Day. Alejo Labrador, the Law Representative and the Carson gold medal winner of last year, was awarded the first honor.

NEW PROFESSOR TO ARRIVE

It has been announced that Professor Eugene A. Gilmore of the University of Berkeley, California, and Secretary of the American Bar Association has left San Francisco en route to these Islands. He will join the Faculty of the College of Law as a non-resident Professor and will be a lecturer on Torts and Partnership and on Contemporary Legal Problems.

PHILIPPINE LAW JOURNAL

Vol. IV

FEBRUARY, 1918

No. 7

DEAN JORGE BOCOBO

Among the most notable events in the history of the Filipinization movement inaugurated since the advent of the Harrison administration, there has been no appointment and promotion more fully deserved and more heartily received than that made by the Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines not long ago in the designation of Mr. Jorge Bocobo, hitherto a Professor of Civil Law and Acting Dean, as the Dean of the College of Law. Without anything to back him up but merit and ability, Dean Bocobo has gradually risen to one of the highest positions of trust and responsibility throughout the whole archipelago.

The town of Gerona, Tarlac, is the birth-place of Dean Bocobo. There he was born in 1886. There he passed his childhood days without anything worthy of note until about the year 1903, when the new American government then established in the Islands sent about one hundred promising young Filipinos to study in the United States. He studied in a State Normal School and afterwards entered the University of Indiana Law School, where he graduated in 1907 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws.

Soon after finishing his course, Dean Bocobo returned to the Islands, and was immediately installed as a law clerk in the Executive Bureau. He took the bar examination in the year 1910 and obtained almost a perfect rating in civil law. In 1911, he was appointed as lecturer in the College of Law, then newly organized. Later on he left his position in the Executive Bureau to devote his time entirely to teaching, and was appointed regular Instructor. In the year 1914 he was made Assistant Professor of Civil Law. In 1916 he was made Associate Professor, and last July, 1917, he was appointed full Professor and Acting Dean, when the then Dean, now Justice Malcolm, was appointed to the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands.

The career of Dean Bocobo as an educator is an entire success, as may have been observed from the results shown by those who have studied under him. His difficult subject, the Civil Code, he has mastered in such a way that its most complex provisions have been clearly explained and elucidated, either by explanation, or diagram, in the classroom. Dean Bocobo is a disciple of the great Spanish commentator, Jose Ma. Manresa, whom he has studiously read ever since he entered the teaching profession. As a result of his diligence, he has developed an outline of the whole civil code, a most beneficial aid in the study of the law, in that it brings before the

eyes of the student the various provisions of the code in compact form and correlates and co-ordinates them in such a way, by means of cause and effect, that a clear view of the subject is readily grasped. The immense value derived from the use of his outline can not be overestimated, and even his former students now practicing law use them as a sort of guide and handbook in looking for the provisions of law applicable to a particular case.

Dean Bocobo is a strict disciplinarian; he believes that efficiency in the administration as well as in the class room can only be accomplished by close adherence to certain rules and for this reason, many have misunderstood him. With the short time that he has been at the helm of the College of Law, however, students have come to understand and appreciate his work; and the few weeks that have elapsed since his appointment as Dean have entirely established him in the full-hearted confidence and trust and love of his pupils. In the Dean's own words, students now look up to him as "an elder brother," cognizant of their needs and alive to their desires. With the establishment of such an understanding and mutual sympathy and co-ope- · ration between the Dean and the student body, there is no room for doubt that his administration as Dean of the College of Law will be, as it has always been, a brilliant

success.

There is another factor, however, in the make-up of the Dean that has added much to the success of his life as an educator, besides his diligence, his clear understanding of his subject, and the cordial relations between himself and the pupils, and this was stated by Justice Malcolm in his speech at the opening exercises of the College of Law, last July, 1917. Justice Malcolm said that one thing which had led him to recommend Professor Bocobo for the Deanship was his independence of judgment and executive ability. This character of the Dean has been shown throughout the course of his administration. Under his guidance and initiative, the various activities of the college have increased manifold and have been undertaken with that spirit of life and joyfulness so characteristic of American university activities. In any undertaking which has been launched by him, the Dean has always put the best of his energies, and to use his own expression, "making the failure of any work which he undertakes his own failure, its success his own success."

All of these characteristics have contributed towards making his work a complete success, and it is hoped that future days will add more inspiration and vigor in him so that he may thus be able to continue successfully the important trust confided in his hands as Dean of the College of Law.-A. L.