Cecilia Muñoz-Palma
| Cecilia Muñoz-Palma | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Chairwoman of the 1986 Constitutional Commission | |
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In office June 2, 1986 – October 15, 1986 |
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| Appointed by | Corazon Aquino |
| 89th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines | |
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In office October 29, 1973 – November 22, 1978 |
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| Appointed by | Ferdinand Marcos |
| Preceded by | Newly created seat |
| Succeeded by | Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera |
| Mambabatas Pambansa (Assemblyman) from Quezon City | |
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In office June 30, 1984 – March 25, 1986 Serving with Ismael Mathay, Jr., Orlando Mercado, and Alberto Romulo |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 22, 1913 Bauan, Batangas, Philippine Islands |
| Died | January 2, 2006 (aged 92) Manila, Philippines |
| Political party | UNIDO (1984–1986) |
Cecilia Muñoz-Palma (November 22, 1913 — January 2, 2006) was a Filipino jurist and the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the Philippines. She was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Ferdinand Marcos on October 29, 1973, and served until she reached the then-mandatory retirement age of 65.
While on the Court, Muñoz-Palma penned several opinions adverse to the martial law government of her appointer, President Marcos. After retiring from the Court, she became a leading figure in the political opposition against Marcos, and was elected to the Batasang Pambansa as an Assemblywoman from Quezon City. When Corazon Aquino was installed as President following the 1986 People Power Revolution, Muñoz-Palma was appointed chairwoman of the 1986 Constitutional Commission that drafted the 1987 Constitution.
The daughter of a congressman from Batangas, Muñoz-Palma earned her law degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law, and a Master of Laws degree from Yale Law School. She topped the 1937 Philippine Bar exams with a 92.6% rating. She became the first woman prosecutor of Quezon City in 1947. Seven years later, she became the first female district judge when she was named a trial court judge for Negros Oriental. In the next few years, she was assigned as a judge to Laguna and Rizal until her appointment to the Court of Appeals in 1968, the second woman ever to be appointed to the appellate court. In 1973, she again made history, this time as the first female Supreme Court Associate Justice.
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