Perfecto Querubin

Perfecto B. Querubin was born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur on Dec. 21, 1904 to Apolinario Querubin, a veteran of the Philippine revolution against Spain and the Fil-Am War that ensued and Rufina Hernaez Bello of San Esteban, Ilocos Sur. Perfecto or Pittong as he was fondly called grew up in his mother’s hometown and studied in one of the American run public schools under the Thomasites, he later on went to study in Vigan for his secondary education, inspired by his paternal uncle Judge Ramon Querubin who topped the Spanish Bar in the mid 1890’s and his maternal uncle Judge Jacobo Hernaez Bello and his cousins who were his contemporaries, Atty. Francisca Querubin (daughter of Ramon and 1st female lawyer from Ilocos Sur) and Atty. Jose Querubin who earlier became lawyers in the 1920’s, Perfecto took his Bachelor of Laws at the University of Manila and graduated in 1934, he was admitted to the bar on the same year.

World War II was looming in the first years of his career as a young lawyer, war among nations was inevitable and it was during those turbulent times that tested his patriotism and loyalty to the nation, a feat that was exemplified by his father Apolinario during the Fil-Am War a generation earlier. His cousin Captain Segundo E. Vergara who commanded an USAFFE unit in their hometown recruited him as one of the officers in his guerrilla unit, they were assigned to dangerous missions such as the retrieval of arms and ordnance from the allied submarine the USS Stingray which surfaced on the coast of Barrio Apatot, San Esteban, Ilocos Sur, the mission was pivotal in the outcome of the war in the whole of North Luzon as it was essential in arming several guerrilla units. Perfecto, together with his comrades including a young lawyer like himself and a good friend of his by the name of Floro Crisologo (later Congressman) were part of the forces that stormed the Japanese positions at Bessang Pass which forced the surrender of Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, ending the war.

In 1950, Perfecto was appointed as Associate People’s Counsel in the Public Service Commission, the present day Civil Service Commission; he was assigned to different cities and provinces in his capacity as city and provincial fiscal, respectively. He was also state prosecutor at the Department of Justice while teaching criminal law at the Adamson University School of Law. He was part of the team in the investigation and filing of cases against some individuals in connection with the disappearance of Meinhart Spielman, the whistleblower in the celebrated case against American businessman Harry Stonehill implicating high ranking officials in the land including then President Diosdado Macapagal, as a result of his excellent performance and excellent disposition, he was honored as prosecutor of the year by a group of journalists covering the hearings, among them was Amando Doronilla. He was appointed by President Carlos P. Garcia, as Judge of the Court of First Instance (RTC today) of Iloilo where he was well liked by lawyers due to his reputation as a fair and honest judge as the cases under him were well studied and fairly disposed. In 1963, while his appointment as a justice of the Court of Appeals was anticipated, he died of pneumonia and heart complications. His body was flown to his home in Manila in a Philippine Air Force plane as an acknowledgement to his efforts during the war. Notable persons who visited his wake included Cecilia Muñoz Palma, the first female ever appointed as justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines who said “I did not know him personally but I came to pay my respects to a man I have heard so much about”. Atty. Norberto Quisumbing, a noted lawyer and his colleague at the DOJ was quoted in his eulogy saying “In an age of crass materialism, he remained true to his principles”.

Perfecto married Cleofe Querubin Gochingco, his paternal second cousin, they had six children.