Justice Cecilia Muñoz-Palma

Another great Filipino is honored on Philippine stamps recently by the Phililippine Postal Corporation (Philpost).

The P7.00 stamp issued on November 22, 2009 features Justice Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, the first woman Supreme Court Associate Justice.

Cecilia Muñoz Palma was born on November 22, 1913 in Bauan, Batangas.

On October 29, 1973, President Ferdinand Marcos appointed her to the Supreme Court. This made her the first woman to be appointed to the highest court of the land.

After her retirement from the court, Muñoz-Palma became a staunch critic of Marcos. She became a prominent figure in the anti-Marcos opposition.

During the Aquino presidency, she was appointed by President Corazon Aquino to be one of the members of the 1986 Constitutional Commission tasked to draft the new constitution. She would eventually be elected by the members to the their President.

By the time she was 85 years old, President Joseph Estrada appointed her to head the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office until 2000. A loyal supporter of Erap, she strongly denounced the circumstances of Estrada's ouster from power and the assumption of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo into office.

She passed away on January 2, 2006 at the age of 92.