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Splendid was the banquet given in honor of Associate Justice George A. Malcolm at the Hotel de France on the evening of July 7, 1917. About a hundred enthusiasts assembled to do him honor, being inspired by that real affection and esteem which every present and past College of Law student feels for the Dean Emeritus.

With Professor Bocobo as the toastmaster, Ampil speaking in the name of the students, Professor Noble in the "great" name of the alumni, and Professor José A. Santos in the "holy" name of the Faculty, there were heard such masterly orations as could deservedly be included in a book entitled "Masterpieces of Philippine Oratory."

An extra number was the extempore speech of Mr. Felipe Agoncillo, who poured forth a fiery refutation to the note humorously scattered on the tables which read: "What's the matter with the P. B. A.? It's patay."

Then Dean Malcolm rose and delivered his farewell address, which appears also in this number of the Journal:

At the end, Attorney Schwarzkopf presented to the Dean the congratulatory resolution signed by the students, the alumni and the members of the Faculty, It was eleven past when the affair was over and all retired with body and soul satisfied.

JUSTICE MALCOLM TAKES OATH OF OFFICE

We clip the following from a local newspaper. "The official opening of the present period of sessions of the Supreme Court of the Islands, which took place yesterday morning was preceded by simple ceremonies in the private sessions room of that body when, in the presence of Governor-General Harrison and several prominent attorneys, among them Attorneys Diokno, Agoncillo and O'Brien of the Colegio de Abogados de Filipinas, Dean George A. Malcolm was inducted into office as an associate justice of that court. The oath was administered by Chief Justice Arellano, after which the entire bench, with the Governor-General and the visiting party, repaired to the public session hall, where Chief Justice Arellano declared the present sessions of the Supreme Court formally opened."

ACTING DEAN BOCOBO IN OFFICE

On the same day in which Dean Malcolm took his seat in the Supreme Court, Professor Bocobo assumed charge of the office of Acting Dean of the College of Law.

His experience as a professor, his wide-spread reputation and his independence of character-these are the qualifications which led Dean Malcolm to urge his appointment, according to statements made by the latter on the occasion of the opening exercises.

BARRISTERS HOLD ELECTIONS

The Philippine Barristers hold the election of its officers last Saturday, July 14, and the following were chosen:

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JUNIOR SENATORS ELECT OFFICERS

The following are the officers of the Junior Philippine Senate as the result of the elections held by that organization, on Saturday, July 14:

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PHILIPPINE LAW JOURNAL

Vol. IV

SEPTEMBER, 1917

No. 2

THE MANILA BAR*

BY RAMON R. SAN JOSE

To write on the Manila Bar does not seem at the beginning to be a hard task for Manila, besides being the metropolis of this Archipelago, is the focus of all Phil. ippine activities. Consequently, any one will expect to be able to search without much difficulty the data which are thereby necessary. But after reacting on this impression, it will be a surprise then to find out that by virtue of such a phenomenon, if we may call it so, the facts are so confused and intertwined that it is not easy to distinguish those which are genuinely "Manilan" from those purely "Philippine." Thus, in this article the Philippine Bar is now and then treated of in connection with the Manila Bar proper, as the description of the latter would be incomplete if the former is not mentioned even in the slightest degree.

On account of its traditional importance, Manila was predestined to be the birthplace of the oldest bar in the Philippines. The study of the law was started in these Islands in 1820,1 when the law course in the University of Santo Tomás was opened with the teaching of the Institutes and the Spanish Civil Law. Hence, we can affirm with much safety that the first graduates of law in this University, nay in the Philippines, became members of the bar between the years 1825 and 1830. What was the exact bar to which they were admitted, nobody at present can ascertain. Yet it may be presumed that it was the Manila Bar since this city was looked upon as the all-important place in these Islands, and so it was natural for the majority, if not all, of the Philippine attorneys to practise therein their profession. However, this is only a mere presumption, for facts are not so reliable as to adequately support the same. It is enough to state that the first Manila Bar, composed of members graduated in the Philippines, dates its existence from the early decades of the nineteenth century.

Such was the origin of the bar that was to be the most influential in this country. But for about seventy years since its establishment, the Manila Bar did not exert much influence, for its members practised their profession apart from one another.

*NOTE:-The Bench and Fiscal Service of Manila are not mentioned in this article on account of the fact that they have already been touched upon, respectively. in "The Administration of Justice in the P. I.," Vol. I. PHILIPPINE LAW JOURNAL. p. 330, and "The Judiciary," Vol. II. PHILIPPINE LAW JOURNAL. p. 59. and in "The Fiscal Service," Vol. II. PHILIPPINE LAW JOURNAL. p. 215. The Manila Bar as only composed of attorneys practising in this City, is herein described.

1 Ignacio Villamor's article in "El Tricentenario de la Universidad de Sto. Tomás de Manila p. 207; Manuel Artigas' "Historia de la Universidad de Sto. Tomás."

This lack of co-operation, however, was not due so much to their shortsightedness as to the benefits derived from mutual work and combined effort, but to the circumstances of the time coupled with the narrow-mindedness of the Spanish governors-general and unfounded jealousy of some of the Audiencia officials at seeing the men of the bar united in the honest pursuit of their noble profession.'

In the course of events, nevertheless, together with the march of progress, the hour finally came when the advocates of Manila founded the first colegio de abogados or bar association in the Philippines. That took place on April 8, 1891, when they met at the Audiencia building under the presidency of Chief Justice Eduardo de Orduña of the Audiencia of Manila. In that meeting they also elected the following attorneys to constitute the first executive board: José Juan de Icaza, Decano (dean); José Moreno Lacalle and Rafael de Ortega y Diaz, Diputados (deputies); Baldomero de Hazañas, Treasurer; and Francisco Summers, Accountant-Secretary. This colegio, which was to be comprised of all lawyers residing in the capital of the Archipelago and those referred to in Secs. 468 and 469 of the Royal Decree of January 5, 1891, had for its object the "uniformity and good order in the practise of the noble profession of law, the fraternity, decorum and discipline among its members, and the equitative distribution of the peculiar burdens of the profession."

Soon after its organization, the most important thing to which the attention of the colegio was then directed was the drafting of its estatutos or statutes. At this point there seems to be a conflict of facts; for in "La Oceanía Española” of October 6, 1891, it appears that the statutes were adopted by the association on that date and then sent to Madrid for final confirmation by the Spanish Government, while Dr. T. H. Pardo de Tavera in his "Miscelanea" states that said statutes were provisionally approved by the Insular Government on July 14, 1896, and lastly ratified by Royal Order of December 31 of the same year. Whether or not the colegio was active between the years 1891 and 1896, the facts are so meagre that no logical conclusion may be drawn out of them. Accordingly, let us turn our attention to these statutes and analyze them inasmuch as they reflect the principles upheld by the lawyers of that period. By their nature the statutes in question were written in the form of a law incorporating an association; for the colegio was given corporate existence with quasi-judicial powers. Strict rules, embodied in ninety-eight sections, were provided for, perhaps, to suit the needs of the legal profession of that time. Thus, since the organization of this colegio, a non-associated lawyer could hardly practise his profession; for an attorney who was not a colegiado,' was only allowed to appear before the courts in cases wherein he was the party himself or his relatives

1 Rafael del Pan: "Labor del Colegio de Abogados," Vol. I. PHILIPPINE LAW Review. p. 3 et seq

2 Section 2 of the Estatutos or Statutes of the Colegio.

3 Section 1 thereof.

"Colegiado" was the name given to a member of the colegio. See Section 4 of the Statutes. See also Section 3 thereof.

within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second of affinity. On account of such limitation, a lawyer found himself, therefore, in an embarrassing condition and so he was forced to become a member of the colegio. But in order that a lawyer could be admitted therein, the following requisites were to be met with: (a).that he should be a holder of the lawyer's degree; (b) that he should be at least over twenty-one years of age; (c) that he should not be suffering any afflictive or correctional penalties; and (d) that he should not have been expelled from any other colegio. Besides these, he should have complied with the other conditions required by existing legisla tion for the practise of law. In case the colegio refused to admit a lawyer, the latter, notwithstanding, could appeal to the Audiencia, whose decision was considered final.'

Such a colegio could really be regarded as an official institution of the Government because the decano was appointed by the Governor-General of the Philippine Islands. Furthermore, the colegio was empowered to try, in a tribunal of its own, those members who committed offenses punishable by its statutes, and to impose the corresponding penalties therefor, which were admonition, simple and double fine, and expulsion from the colegio. Whether or not the colegio fully and literally carried out these provisions of its statutes, it is not certain. But what it is beyond doubt is that under such systematic regulations the colegio continued to exist until the advent of the Americans.

As a consequence of the Revolution, many of the attorneys left the Capital to join the Filipino army. The colegio of Manila found itself almost deserted by its members. Fortunately, however, it was reorganized in 1899 by the never-forgotten Filipino advocate, Felipe G. Calderon. But the activities of the colegio were then apparently hampered by a new element in the Manila Bar, to wit, the American element. The Filipino lawyers, imbibed in the doctrines of the civil law and accustomed to Spanish proceedings, found themselves confronted by barristers who were adherent to the principles of the common law and acquainted with the procedure followed in the courts newly established by the American Government in these Islands. Hence, there was a fear lest differences in professional viewpoints as well as race prejudices and otherwise might separate one element from another, and thus the administration of justice would largely be obstructed. This fear was further strengthened when the American lawyers organized a bar association of their own. So in Manila the members of the bar were divided into two groups: the Filipinos with their "colegio" and the Americans with their "bar association." Such a division, arising from surrounding conditions, continued with its disagreeable consequences until through the initiative of many, both Americans and Filipinos, the idea of fusing the two legal societies was carried out. For their greatest satisfaction, the union

1 Section 6 of the Statutes.

2 Section 10, par. 3, thereof.

3 "Decano" is equivalent to "president." The other members of the executive board were chosen by the colegio. (Secs. 26 and 27.)

4 See Sections 78, 79, 87, and 93.

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