Yesterday I was tasked by the Las Pinas City Bar Association to introduce Judge Erlinda N. Alvaro during a testimonial dinner in her honor. She received two (2)great awards two weeks ago from the Supreme Court of the Philippines -- one for judicial excellence and the other one for best decision in civil case. Below is the introduction that I gave. Thus:
Introduction of Judge Erlinda Nicolas Alvaro Testimonial Dinner Sponsored by the Las Pinas City Bar Association on September 26, 2008 at 6:00PM at Cecille’s Restaurant, Las Pinas City.
Our distinguished guest and honoree for tonight is the 2008 Chief Justice Cayetano Arellano awardee and the 2008 Special Awardee for Best Decision in Civil Case under the auspices of the Annual Judicial Excellence Awards Program of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
These two great awards are rarely granted to one and the same judge.
Our honoree received the two awards on September 17, 2008 at the Session Hall of the Supreme Court.
The annual search for the Judicial Excellence Awards Program of the Supreme Court is administered by the Board of Trustees of the Society for Judicial Excellence, which is headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Bernardo Pardo as chairperson, retired Supreme Court Justice Angelina Sandoval Gutierrez as chairperson emeritus, and Court of Appeals Justice Portia Alino Hormachuelos as vice chairperson.
For the year 2008, the final selection of the awardees was done by the Board of Judges composed of Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio, Supreme Court Justice Ma. Alicia Austria Martinez, retired Supreme Court Justice Angelina Sandoval Gutierrez, retired Supreme Court Justice Carolina Griño Aquino, Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Conrado Vasquez, Integrated Bar of the Philippines national president Atty. Feliciano Bautista, Dean Amado Dimayuga of the Judicial and Bar Council, and Dean Cesar Villanueva of the Ateneo Law School.
Together with our honoree, there were 3 other RTC judges who were recognized by the Supreme Court for their outstanding performance in the judiciary, namely:
1. RTC Judge Lorifel Pahimna, of Pasig City, who was given the Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos Award;
2. RTC Judge Henry Aries, of Negros Occidental, who was given the Chief Justice Ramon Avancena Award; and
3. RTC Judge Leonor Gerona Romeo, of Sorsogon, who was given the Special Award for Best Decision in Criminal Case.
In its recent press statement announcing the Awarding Ceremonies, the Supreme Court described our distinguished honoree as “no stranger to excellence” and as a “consistent academic achiever”.
Former Las Pinas Executive Judge Joselito DJ Vibandor describes our honoree as straightforward, honest, and “romantically frank”. He says that he has learned many things from the direct-to-the-point advice and suggestions of our honoree during his tenure as Executive Judge of our City on how to improve Court Management and the administration of justice in our City, for which he was truly happy and indebted.
Former Las Pinas City Executive Judge Bonifacio Maceda, who hails from the same province as our honoree, that is, the island province of Leyte, fondly recalls that, prior to the appointment of our honoree as a Trial Prosecutor in Manila and later as RTC Judge in our City, she was proudly described by the Leytenos as one the “bright girls” of Former Commission on Audit Chairman Francisco Tantuico, who was known for screening and maintaining an excellent core of high-caliber lawyers and management executives during his tenure as COA Chairman.
To stress the fact that the Supreme Court, the Society for Judicial Excellence, and the Board of Judges of the 2008 Judicial Excellence Awards Program of the Supreme Court did not commit a reversible error or a grave abuse of discretion in recognizing our distinguished honoree, and to stress the fact that the Las Pinas City Bar Association did not commit a patent misappreciation of evidence in endorsing the honoree to the Supreme Court, allow me to give you a brief description of her academic and professional credentials.
The father of our honoree, Serafin Nicolas, served as a mayor of the municipality of Dagami, Leyte, and her mother, Teresa Callera Nicolas, served as a vice mayor of the same municipality. It was her early exposure to governance, accountability and transparency, as exemplified by her parents that inspired her to take the path of the administration of justice as a profession.
Our honoree is married to retired RTC Judge Victorino Alvaro. The couple has a common denominator: the love of the rule of law and the administration of justice.
After finishing her primary education in her municipality in Dagami, Leyte, which she completed as the class valedictorian, our honoree proceeded to St. Paul’s College in Tacloban City to finish her secondary education.
Upon graduation from high school in Tacloban City, she enrolled at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, where she finished the degree of Bachelor of Science, Major in Home Economics, in 1966.
She has completed all academic requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education at the University of Manila.
In her desire to expand her intellectual horizon, she took further studies at the Pamantasan ng Maynila, where, in 1977, she finished the degree of Bachelor of Business Management.
She has completed 51 units for the degree of Master of Business Administration at the same University.
From the Pamantasan ng Maynila, she moved to the University of the East where she finished the degree of Bachelor of Laws, as the Class Valedictorian, in 1986. She was admitted to the Bar in 1987.
In her desire to seek a global study of law and the justice system, she moved to the University to of San Diego in California, USA, where, in 1990, she completed the degree of Master of Comparative Law.
Our honoree is an educator, having served as a college instructor of the University of Manila from 1969 to 1975.
She is a tax law expert, having served as a Senior Tax Researcher at the National Tax Research Center from 1975 to 1982.
Her work at the Commission on Audit from 1982 to 1989 gave her the expertise in human resource development, training, and research, having served in various capacities therein, namely, Head Executive Assistant of the Chairman, Chief of the Research Division of the Manpower Development Office, Chief of the Training Division, and Staff Officer II of a Commissioner.
From the Commission on Audit, she moved to the Department of Justice where she served as State Counsel III of the Technical Staff from 1991 to 1993 and later as an Assistant City Prosecutor of Manila from 1993 to 2001.
From the Department of Justice, she moved to the Judiciary, where she was appointed as the Presiding Judge of Branch 198 of the Regional Trial Court of Las Pinas City In 2001.
Fluent in the German language, our honoree has attended various foreign seminars and conferences, notable among which were a Judicial Colloquium on International Human Rights Law in Vienna, Austria in 1999; a Seminar on Comparative Law and Development held in Sweden in 1995; and a Seminar on Tax Administration held in Germany in 1978, in addition to the local seminars, conventions, and workshops sponsored by the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice, the Philippine Judges Association, and other related government agencies from 1980 to 2007
Our honoree is the incumbent deputy vice president for administration of the Philippine Judges Association and the incumbent treasurer of the Las Piñas City Judges Association. She is a member of the UP Delta Lambda Sigma Sorority, the Soroptimist International, Manila Chapter, and the Zonta Club, Las Pinas Chapter.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our distinguished guest and honoree for tonight, future Court of Appeals Associate Justice, Hon. Erlinda Nicolas Alvaro.
By:
Atty. Manuel J. Laserna Jr.
Founder, Las Pinas City Bar Association
(LPBA), Inc.
