Dispatch from Crame No. 209
Sen. Leila M. de Lima's statement on the demise of Retired SC Associate Justice Flerida Ruth Romero

12 / 11 / 17

I join the legal community and the rest of the country in mourning the loss of another champion of the Rule of Law and human rights.

The late Retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, the Honorable Flerida Ruth Romero, had a career and legacy that has shaped the lives of ALL Filipinos, whether they are aware of it or not.

She was a labor law expert who helped establish what would later become the UP School of Labor and Industrial Relations. As a civil and family law expert, she played a key part in the drafting of the Family Code.

As a human rights advocate, she had a key role in promoting women and children's rights, not just here but in the international sphere. Hers is a name that should not be forgotten because she worked to better the lives of our people.

Personally, she was an inspiration to me as lawyer, a public servant, and as a human rights advocate. Her personal inspirational messages to me came at times when I needed them most.

I, therefore, send my deepest and sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones she has left behind.

Everything she touched was a step towards uplifting the lives of Filipinos. Indeed, at a time when many that dare call themselves public servants are bent on demeaning, destroying and maligning lives, public figures and legal luminaries like her will truly be missed.

With her passing, another light in the legal, nay, the Filipino community goes out, and the end of an era grows ever nearer. An end of an era when respect for others mattered. When dignity and integrity mattered. When Truth and Justice mattered. When rights mattered. When being right mattered.

Her watch has ended. But, perhaps, if we public servants, members of the legal profession, and leaders in the community followed her example and helped breathe new life into her advocacies, perhaps her legacy will live much longer and benefit our people for a longer time.