Marvic Leonen

Marvic Mario Victor Famorca Leonen (born December 29, 1962) has been the Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines since May 14, 2022, following the retirement of Senior Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe. He became an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on November 21, 2012, making him the second-youngest jurist to hold the position, and the youngest since Manuel V. Moran in 1938.
Before joining the Supreme Court, he served as chief peace negotiator of the Republic of the Philippines in peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Leonen is sometimes called "The Great Dissenter" for his liberal and human rights-oriented decisions, often in opposition to the more conservative justices close to Rodrigo Duterte.
Leonen was the dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law at University of the Philippines Diliman from 2008 to 2011, and is known for his work in environmental activism and community organizing.
Mario Victor Famorca Leonen was born on December 29, 1962, to lawyer Mauro Leonen (d. 1970) and Adrelina Famorca. His parents married in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, but settled in Baguio City, Benguet, where he was born. He is the second of six children and is of Ilocano ethnicity.
His mother is a pharmacist and housewife. His father was a human rights lawyer who represented indigenous Ibaloi people in land title disputes. Mauro died in a car accident in San Manuel, Tarlac on June 26, 1970.
Leonen decided to pursue a legal career in the second grade.
After attending St. Theresa's College for elementary school and graduating as valedictorian from Saint Louis University-Boys' High School, Leonen graduated magna cum laude with a degree in economics from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1983. During the academic year 1982–1983, he chaired Economics Toward Consciousness, a student organization based in the University of the Philippines School of Economics. He obtained his law degree from the university's College of Law in 1987, graduating in the top four of his class.
In his senior year, Leonen joined the free legal assistance group in 1988 and remained a member until his appointment to the Supreme Court in 2012. That year, he co-founded the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center, Inc.-Kasama sa Kalikasan, a legal and policy research and advocacy institution that provides legal services to upland rural poor and indigenous people's communities. He served as the center's executive director for 15 years. He then attended Columbia University and where he earned a Master of Laws degree.
Leonen joined the law faculty in 1989 as a professorial lecturer in Philippine Indigenous Law. He became an assistant professor during Dean Pacifico Agabin's term and began working as an academic administrator under Dean Merlin M. Magallona. In 2000, he became the university general counsel, and in March 2005, he became the first vice president for legal affairs of the UP System. Leonen has taught 20 different subjects in the law school.
He also directed the college's clinical legal education program and has lectured and been a resource speaker at national and international forums in Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Spain, Netherlands, Australia, Estonia, and the United Kingdom.
In 2008, the Board of Regents of the UP System selected him as the Dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law at UP Diliman. He served as dean until Danilo L. Concepcion was appointed in June 2011.
Leonen has also provided legal commentary for television networks such as ABS-CBN and GMA Network during events such as the 2000-2001 impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada.
In July 2010, President Benigno Aquino III named Leonen as the Philippine government's chief negotiator with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Under his leadership, the government successfully created a framework agreement with the MILF to establish the Bangsamoro political entity, replacing the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao. His performance was praised, bringing new hopes for lasting peace in war-torn Mindanao.
On November 21, 2012, President Benigno Aquino III appointed Leonen as the 172nd Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines at the age of 49, making him the youngest justice named to the Court since 1938.
In Belgica v. Executive Secretary, the landmark case where the Court declared the Priority Development Assistance Fund unconstitutional, Leonen wrote a separate concurring opinion demonstrating a command of logic and the law to support the unconstitutionality of pork barrel. He stated, "A member of the House of Representatives or a Senator is not an automated teller machine from which the public can withdraw funds for sundry private purposes."
In civil law, Leonen penned many notable decisions, including Tan-Andal v. Andal, which removed the requirement of medical or expert witnesses for declaring a marriage null due to psychological incapacity under the Family Code. The new rule requires only totally antagonistic personality structures resulting in the inevitable breakdown of the marriage. The incapacity to fulfill essential marital obligations need only be manifest specifically toward that spouse to declare the marriage void ab initio.
Leonen is known for his frequent dissents. In an interview with Rappler, he stated that while his point of view might often be "before its time," he is not frustrated by dissenting, as the reasoning in his dissent might be relied upon by the majority in the future, citing Holmes' dissent in Abrams v. United States as an example.
Among Leonen's notable dissents is his argument in Disini v. Secretary of Justice that criminal libel and cyberlibel are unconstitutional vestiges of American and Spanish colonialism. He is also noted for his dissent in Republic v. Sereno, calling the majority's decision a "legal abomination." In Lagman vs. Pimentel III, a case addressing the legality of extending martial law and suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao, Leonen explained that Congress had abused its discretion because there was no proper presentation of facts, no examination of the allegations by the military, and no ascertainment of why a longer extension was needed despite the continued declaration of military victory.
In the Philippines, the Supreme Court administers the Bar Examinations and each year, a Supreme Court Justice becomes the Bar Chairperson. Leonen was to be the chairperson for the 2020 Bar Exams (postponed), but his term was extended to the 2021 batch due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the exam date was pending, the Supreme Court kept examinees informed by posting instructions at the Bar Bulletins, and Leonen regularly posted updates and motivations on Twitter using the hashtag "#BestBarEver2020_21".
The exam was initially scheduled for November 2021 but was moved to the four Sundays of January 16, 23, 30, and February 6, 2022. It was then held on February 4 and 6, 2022, in response to scientific recommendations and compliance with COVID-19 related orders. The exam took place in 31 localized testing sites nationwide, each adhering to pandemic protocols and cooperating with local law enforcement.
This batch produced 8,241 newly licensed lawyers out of 11,402 examinees, including 761 "exemplary passers" (grades from 85 to 90%) and 14 "excellent passers" (grades above 90%). Leonen replaced the word "fail" with "did not pass" or "did not finish" for those who did not score 75% or higher.
The Supreme Court En Banc approved the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA) on April 11, 2023, after a nationwide caravan with members of the legal community and the public. The new CPRA was launched on April 13, 2023, at the Manila Hotel before members of the legal community. The event included the introduction of the New Lawyer's Oath, authored by Senior Associate Justice Leonen.
REVISED LAWYER'S OATH (A.M. No. 22-09-01-SC: Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability)
Proposed Revised Lawyer's Oath SUB-COMMITTEE FOR THE REVISION OF THE CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Proposed Revised Lawyer's Oath JUSTICE MARVIC MARIO VICTOR F. LEONEN
On May 25, 2024, Leonen announced at his Integrated Bar of the Philippines Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas Chapter lecture at the Manila Hotel that the Supreme Court of the Philippines was drafting the "Writ of Kalayaan," a writ and constitutional remedy to address prison overcrowding of detention suspects (PDLs) and protect their human and legal rights. The World Prison Brief ranks the Philippines third in prison occupancy (362%). The Commission on Audit's 2022 review revealed that 323 of 478 jails are congested. However, on October 19, 2023, Bureau of Corrections's Gregorio Catapang Jr. contradicted the legal remedy recommended by the SC’s judicial panel "Committee on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law" on December 19, 2022, citing Republic Act 10575 (Bureau of Corrections Act of 2013), RA 11928, and the Department of Justice's 5-year Development and Modernization Plan 2023-2028.
In December 2020, Edwin Cordevilla, claiming to be the secretary general of the Filipino League of Advocates for Good Government and represented by lawyer Larry Gadon, filed an impeachment complaint against AJ Marvic Leonen. The complaint alleged that SAJ Leonen had been “incompetent and negligent” for failing to resolve 37 cases within the required period and lacked integrity for not filing his SALN for 15 years.
Under the 1987 Constitution of The Philippines, grounds for impeachment include culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust. Leonen was accused of culpable violation of the Constitution for failing to resolve cases in a timely manner and betrayal of public trust for not filing his SALN.
Despite the likelihood of a trial, Leonen received public support, especially from the legal and academic community. On December 10, 2020, the UP College Of Law released a statement dismissing the impeachment complaint, stating that Leonen “has expressed consistently, in his decisions and dissents, a commitment to academic rigor, principled discourse, creative expression, and courageous authenticity” and that the act was “a latest assault to send our nation further down the dark road, especially while a global pandemic still hangs over all our heads and threatens to bring our society into despair and destitution.” Senator Risa Hontiveros also called the impeachment unnecessary and counterproductive, deeming it a “distraction that will only drag lawmakers and the public into a pointless political fiasco” amid the pandemic.
On May 27, 2021, the impeachment hearing began, and 44 lawmakers immediately found the complaint lacked sufficient evidence.
Under the Philippine Rules of Court, “a witness can testify only to those facts which he knows of his personal knowledge; that is, which are derived from his own perception, except as otherwise provided in these rules (Section 36 of Rule 130).” The supporting documents used were photocopies or newspaper articles that did not manifest personal knowledge or authentic records, proving the case groundless.
Leonen released a statement via his Chambers, posted on his Twitter account, expressing thankfulness for the support from lawyers, professors, and other workers in the Judiciary, adding that "[we] must courageously focus on the essentials: do what is right at the right time in the right way, serve our people and serve them well."
Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen is a public speaker on Philippine law and related causes and is often invited to give motivational speeches at public and academic events such as graduations and oath-takings. His popular talks include his 2013 TEDxDiliman talk, where he discusses why lawyers matter:
Other notable talks include his views about Reification, his Bar 2019 Oath-taking speech, and his 2020-2021 Oath-taking speech delivered to the successful examinees for whom he served as Bar Chairperson.
Leonen is divorced and has one daughter, Lian Laya (nicknamed "Malaya" or "free"). Leonen and his former spouse have been actively co-parenting Lian Laya since 2004. In a 2013 interview with Ces Drilon, he revealed that he would trade his job to be a full-time father. Leonen has a following among law students and the youth, often posting jokes on love and beliefs based on his favorite books on Twitter and in graduation speeches and socio-political forums.
Leonen has been a vegan since 2017, advocating for plant-based diets as an ethical and ecological choice and opposing animal-sourced products due to their contribution to global warming and ecological destruction.
Leonen is also a fountain pen aficionado and advocate, supporting local pen enterprises and attending fountain pen events in Manila. He enjoys photography (often street photography) as a hobby and maintains an Instagram account to showcase his work. He is fluent in Filipino, English, and Ilocano. He has a Cordilleran-inspired tattoo depicting a lizard around his right wrist, with designs featuring combinations of snake and centipede symbolisms (called "tinulipao", "tab-whad", "inang-oo" and "gayaman").