Fr. Joanquin Bernas, S.J., Ateneo law professors oppose U.P. Law professors call for SC justice to resign

Editor's note: The Diliman Diary has been inspired to conduct its own in-depth inquiry into recent court cases involving the Diliman community and in particular, several lawyers who are at the forefront of condemning Supreme Court Justice Mariano del Castillo for having allegedly plagiarized an earlier decision and demanding his resignation even before the Supreme Court as a body has formed its own conclusions on the matter.

While we actually support the inquiry into the matter, we do not wish to just stop there, as we are also made aware that a can of worms has correspondingly been opened and we are openly wondering whether it may be established that those who are condemning the officials of the court for "judicial plagiarism" may not themselves be direct beneficiaries of such court decisions by themselves providing pre-written or "soft copies" to officials of the court which substantially reflect their own pleadings, and thereby making a mockery of the ideal that Justice should be blind.

We are therefore narrowing in on a convenience sample of recent cases of public interest involving the University of the Philippines to prove (or even disprove) our point. If we come across significant findings, our public duty is to complain before the judicial authorities first, and inform our readers of the results only if official action has been taken, assuming that anything amiss has been found in the first place.

Like Academic plagiarism, Judicial plagiarism may be easily established by comparing, say, a plaintiff's or defendant's pleadings versus a court decision in a line by line comparison of all sets of documents. We hope, for the sake of a good night's sleep, as well as the inetgrity of the entire judicial system, that we are able to prove ourselves wrong. In the meantime, here is an article from philstar.com about the Ateneo Law professors opposition to the U.P. Law Professors manifesto (just click on the link):

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Father Jett is Ateneo de Manila University's New President

The Board of Trustees of Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), at its special meeting last 29 June 2010, elected Fr. Jose Ramon T. Villarin, S.J. to be the next University President for an initial 3-year term from April 1, 2011 - March 31, 2014. He is currently the President of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan.

Also known as "Fr. Jett" to his students and fellow colleagues, he is a Filipino Jesuit priest and scientist, who currently serves as university president of Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan. On June 29, 2010, he was elected to succeed Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, S.J. as President of the Ateneo de Manila University. Fr. Villarin's first term as university president is from April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2014.

In a memo dated July 1, 2010 to the ADMU Community by. Ms. Maria Rosario Banzon, the Secretary of the Board of Trustees, said Fr. Villarin graduated B.S. Physics, magna cum laude and class valedictorian, Ateneo de Manila University, 1980; M.S. Physics, Marquette University in Wisconsin, 1987; STB Theology, summa cum laude, Loyola School of Theology, 1991. He acquired his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Physics from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, in 1997.

Fr. Villarin entered the Sacred Heart novitiate in May 1981 and was ordained priest in April 1991. He took his final vows in January 2005. He received the National Outstanding Young Scientist award in 2000, and the Outstanding Book Award for "Disturbing Climate" in 2002. He is also an active member of several local and international environment and climate committees, such as the United Nations' Consultative Group of Experts for Developing Countries, and the Inter-Agency Committee on Climate Change, among others.

He has held various positions as campus minister and faculty member in Physics at the Loyola Schools, Chief of Climate Studies in the Manila Observatory, member of the Board of Trustees of Ateneo universities in Manila, Davao, and Zamboanga; and currently as the President of Xavier University.

The Search Committee, in its report to the Board, stated that Fr. Villarin has "the academic stature, leadership experience, and a good grasp of the demands of the position" to be the next University President.

According to wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Ramon_Villarin), Fr. Villarin was born in Manila on January 30, 1960.Fr. Villarin entered the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches in May 1981. He was ordained priest in April 1991, and took his final vows in January 2005.

Villarin served in various capacities throughout his career as a scientist. He worked in Georgia Tech as a graduate research assistant and as a researcher in the Laser Laboratory of the Ateneo. His current positions include being Head of the Climate Studies Division of the Manila Observatory and assistant professor at the Department of Physics in the School of Science and Engineering at the Ateneo.

In 2005, he became president of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, and became a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ateneo de Manila University in 2009.[5] He also sits as a member of the boards of trustees of the Ateneo de Davao University, the Ateneo de Naga University, and the Ateneo de Zamboanga University.