by: Dake Mandocdoc
Sometime in 1519, the Armada de Molucca under the command of Ferdinand Magellan left the shores of Seville, Spain with the hope of finding a western route to the Spice Islands. The Armada de Molucca stopped in the Philippines in 1521, where it was met with resistance — leading to Magellan’s demise in the Battle of Mactan on April 27, 1521. A little over a year later, with only one of its five ships and 19 of its 270 men, the Armada de Molucca eventually reached Seville, Spain. This voyage became the first circumnavigation of the world in human history.
About five centuries since the Armada de Molucca’s departure from Spain, members of the Philippine legal academe left the tropical shores of Manila and flew westward to Spain to participate in the Fifth International Scientific Congress (Fifth ISC) organized by Ateneo de Manila University School of Law (ALS), the Facultad de Derecho of the University of Deusto (UD), and the Facultad de Derecho of the University of Malaga (UMA). While the Philippine delegation was no way close to the number of the original sailors of the Armada de Molucca, they carried the same vigor — this time, however, the goal was not to find the Spice Islands. Rather, the Philippine delegation sought to find ways on how Spain and the Philippines, two countries that are almost 12,000 kilometers apart but which shared laws for three centuries, can learn from each other’s recent experiences.
Similar to the Armada de Molucca, the Philippine delegation had a strong decisive leader — Prof. Rubén F. Balane, a celebrated civilist in the Philippines who teaches civil law in ALS. It also included delegations from different law schools like ALS, University of the Philippines College of Law, San Beda College of Law, University of San Agustin, and De La Salle Lipa.
As for the ALS delegation, its captain was Dean Jose Maria G. Hofileña and his crew included the following ALS faculty members: Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Ma. Ngina Teresa V. Chan-Gonzaga, Executive Director of Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ Institute for Continuing Legal Education Lily K. Gruba, former Dean Sedfey M. Candelaria, Atty. Ferdinand M. Negre, Atty. Axel Rupert M. Cruz, and Atty. Dan Kevin C. Mandocdoc. They were joined by Jo Beatriz L. Guerrero; Kristine C. Sonon; Sittie Namraidah L. Ali; Julia Rio Therese M. Negre — ALS students who may be considered as sailors in an unchartered water in the Philippine legal academe. These students left Manila in early 2019 as the students pioneering the exchange program between ALS and the Facultad de Derecho of UMA under Eramus K107+.
Prior to their arrival in Bilbao, the ALS delegation made a stop in Malaga, Spain. This stop was non-negotiable for Malaga has too strong a tie with the Philippines. For starters, the Armada de Molucca carried with it tons of Boquerones — a type of sardines that comes from this Mediterranean city of Andalusia. Also, Ruy López de Villalobos, the man that named Philippines after Spain’s then Prince Philip of Asturias (later King Philip II of Spain), was born in Malaga. Most importantly, Prof. Jose Manuel de Torres Perea (to whom Prof. Balane fondly gave the nickname “Peping”), the person responsible for the link between the Spanish-Philippine legal academe that started more than five years ago, is a Malagueño. The first ISC, which came into life because of Prof. de Torres Perea’s efforts in finding a contact in the Philippines, was actually held in Malaga.
In both Malaga and Bilbao, the Philippine delegation felt resistance. Unlike the Armada de Molucca, however, the Philippine delegation felt resistance not on their arrival but on their departure. The Philippine delegation found it too hard to leave these cities due to the warm hospitality of the Spanish hosts. The scrumptious tapas and pintxos, the marvelous architecture, and the rich culture in Spain also did not help in making the Philippine delegation not fall in love with these two cities. Take for example the venue for the Fifth ISC — how can one not fall in love with the picturesque campus of UD in Bilbao, Spain? With historic buildings nestled between green mountains and a river that faces the Guggenheim Museum, any person based in a tropical archipelago would definitely feel that he was on the other side of the world upon entering the campus grounds.
The content of the Fifth ISC also made everyone realize how different the legal systems in Spain and the Philippines have evolved one century after the link between these two jurisdictions was severed. Yet, the similarities and points of convergence were also pointed out. For example, in Prof. Balane’s inaugural speech on the Spanish influence on the Philippine Civil Code, he highlighted that the Philippine Civil Code, which took effect in 1950 to replace the Spanish Civil Code, was written in English but was heavily based on the Spanish Civil Code. Further, points of divergence and convergence were also highlighted through the academic sessions on the relations between ASEAN and the EU; international trade law and competition law; migration, human rights, and social justice; Basque presence in the Philippines; and other emerging legal issues. In these academic sessions, professors from ALS, other schools in the Philippines, Spain, and other parts of the world presented their findings on the lessons that each jurisdiction may learn from the other.
Indeed, the Fifth ISC was, in every sense of the word, another circumnavigation. It was a circumnavigation that had both Spanish and Filipino legal academics as its sailors. Like the other four previous ISCs, it was an opportunity for these legal academics and scholars to sail as one once more. And in this collaborative voyage, these legal academics and scholars were again, in the words of Prof. Balane, “rebuilding bridges that have gone into disrepair; … retying bonds that have been loosed by accidents of history; … travelling together once more as seafarers who somehow in the last century have lost each other in a strange and uncharted sea.”
For more information about the Fifth ISC, please visit the event’s website at https://www.sailingthelegalworld.deusto.es/28470/detail/v-international-scientific-congress-five-centuries-sailing-the-legal-world.html
Photos taken by: Mari Cruz, Julia Negre, Dake Mandocdoc
