Law professor of Duterte dies in Bohol

President Rodrigo Duterte took time to visit his law professor Victor De La Serna during the 2016 campaign sortie in Bohol. De La Serna, the first Boholano Bar topnotcher and former officer-in-charge governor, died on Wednesday morning. (Contributed Photo)

TAGBILARAN CITY –– A bar topnotcher and law professor of President Duterte passed away here on Wednesday, July 8.

Victor De La Serna died at the Holy Name University Medical Center in Tagbilaran City at 3:55 a.m.

He was 78.

His family did not reveal the cause of death but a close family friend said the veteran lawyer died of cardiac arrest.

De La Serna graduated from the San Beda University’s College of Law in 1965 and ranked first in the Bar Examinations in the same year, making him Bohol’s first Bar topnotcher.

He became a law professor at San Beda College and was one of the admired professors of President Duterte.

Dela Serna also served as a delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention and was appointed officer-in-charge governor of Bohol following the 1986 People Power Revolution.

In 1988, he passed the California State Bar and practiced law in the United States from 1989 and 1995.

In 2017, he was inducted into the San Beda Law Hall of Fame.

In 2018, President Duterte appointed Dela Serna as a member of the consultative committee that would review the 1987 Constitution in a bid to change the fundamental law.

As an anti-corruption crusader, De La Serna led a group of concerned Tagbilaranons who filed graft cases against erring officials.

He put up a giant billboard at a public market in Tagbilaran City, denouncing the alleged corruption committed during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

President Duterte mentioned De La Serna in his speeches during the 2016 campaign sorties and visits to Bohol, saying he had a tough time passing the professor’s classes.

LZB