On November 5, 1881, George Malcolm, an American justice and Philippine law expert founded the University of the Philippines (U.P.) College of Law in 1911, was born in Concord, Michigan, USA.

As a lawyer in his early 30s, Malcolm was assigned to the Philippines, which was then a colony of the United States, and rose quickly in rank from several minor positions starting from clerk in the Bureau of Health and subsequently in the Bureau of Justice to acting attorney-general for the Philippines.

He pushed for the establishment of a college of law in U.P. but his proposal was initially turned down by the Board of Regents, prompting him to arrange for the Manila Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) to offer law courses, which commenced in 1910.

Within a year, the Board of Regents reconsidered his appeal and authorized the establishment of the College of Law on January 12, 1911.

Malcolm served for six years after being appointed permanently to the dean’s post of the College of Law on October 11, 1911. He also taught courses in constitutional law and legal ethics.

Three students who graduated during his deanship eventually became president of the Philippines – Jose P. Laurel, Manuel Roxas, and Elpidio Quirino – while several of his other students later served in the Supreme Court, including Laurel himself.

Later on, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson appointed Malcolm to sit as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines at age 35, serving for 19 years.

He served in the Court until 1936 when he was forced to retire upon the promulgation of the 1935 Constitution, which limited Supreme Court membership to Filipinos.

Notably, Malcolm had written 3,340 opinions for the Court, some of which remain influential to date.

He later settled back in the United States and accepted other key positions, though he would make occasional visits to the Philippines and to the law school housed in the building named “Malcolm Hall” in his honor.

He died at age 79 in Los Angeles on May 16, 1961.

Source: Philippine News Agency archives
Photo: Wikipedia

(JR AMIGO/ai/mnm)

Image Courtesy of: bayaningfilipino.blogspot.com

On September 20, 1898, Josefa Llanes Escoda, noted civic leader, educator and founder of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP), was born in Dingras, Ilocos Norte.

Escoda, who obtained her teaching degree in 1919 at the Philippine Normal School in Manila, was a social worker for the Philippine Chapter of the American Red Cross.

She was sent to undergo training in Girl Scouting in the United States under the sponsorship of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines.

She also obtained a master’s degree in Social Work in 1925 from Columbia University, through Red Cross Scholarship.

Upon her return to the country, she began training women to become Girl Scout leaders and eventually proceeded to organize the Girl Scouts of the Philippines.

On May 26, 1940, when President Manuel L. Quezon signed the GSP Charter, she became the group’s first National Executive.

She was married to Antonio Escoda, whom she met as a reporter from the Philippine Press Bureau. They had two children.

She was executed on January 6, 1945 at the age of 46 on Japanese suspicion of being a guerrilla sympathizer. Her husband, Colonel Antonio Escoda, was also executed in 1944, along with General Vicente Lim.

A street and a building in Manila have been named after her and a monument has been dedicated to her memory.

Reference: Philippine News Agency

(Filed by Jr Amigo/ai/mnm)