Teehankee biography honors jurist’s enduring legacy

At Club Filipino in Greenhills, history was not merely the backdrop — it was part of the room. Beneath the mural of Corazon Aquino’s 1986 oath-taking, guests gathered for a preview of Veritas Integritas Justitia: The Life and Times of Claudio Teehankee, the first fully authorized biography of the late Chief Justice Claudio Teehankee, held on the occasion of his 108th birth anniversary.

The setting carried its own quiet charge. It was then-Associate Justice Teehankee who administered Aquino’s oath during one of the country’s defining democratic moments, making the venue a resonant choice for a book devoted to a jurist remembered as a defender of civil liberties and the rule of law.

Published by the Claudio Teehankee Foundation and Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation, the biography was co-authored by the late Nelson A. Navarro, C. Horatius Mosquera, and Ambassador Manuel A. J. Teehankee. The volume traces Teehankee’s life from his upbringing in a second-generation Chinese Filipino family and Jesuit education to his rise as a leading lawyer, his service in government, and his two decades on the Supreme Court.

The preview drew a distinguished circle from the legal, civic, cultural, and Teehankee family communities. Retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. attended as special guest, joining Mosquera and Ambassador Teehankee for an occasion that was less a conventional book launch than a meditation on public conscience. Chinese Filipino civic leader and writer Teresita Ang See was also present, along with guests including Gemma Cruz Araneta, Angel Guerrero, David Guerrero, Evelyne Zulueta, Evelyn Ranada and Raul Teehankee.

In his remarks, Ambassador Teehankee described the biography as “both a compass and a reminder of the enduring principles that guided the man whose name we are honoring.” Davide, reflecting on the continuing relevance of Teehankee’s example, called him “a living hero” and a personal model.

The book’s civic afterlife began soon after. Mosquera and Ambassador Teehankee made a courtesy call at the Supreme Court to present a signed copy to Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, whose personal message appears in the book. Associate Justice Ricardo Rosario witnessed the presentation. Another signed copy was donated to the Supreme Court Library and received by head librarian Edeliza Gallo.