Cecilia Muñoz-Palma

Cecilia Arreglado Muñoz-Palma (November 22, 1913 – January 2, 2006) was a Filipino jurist and the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

After retiring from the Court, she became a leading figure in the political opposition against Marcos, and was elected to the Batasang Pambansa as an Assemblywoman from Quezon City.

The daughter of Pedro P. Muñoz, who would serve as representative from Batangas's 2nd district, Muñoz-Palma enrolled at St. Scholastica’s College in Manila and was the valedictorian of high school class of 1931.

L-40004, January 31, 1975, J. Muñoz-Palma, Separate Opinion ) The following year, she voted against allowing Marcos the right to propose amendments to the Constitution by himself, and in doing so, ventured to call for the lifting of martial law itself.

Instead, the President dissolved it by means of a proclamation, which formed a provisional constitution that declares her government to be revolutionary and assumed legislative powers the now former Batasan held.

However, in 1992, President Fidel V. Ramos appointed Muñoz-Palma as a member of the Council of Advisers of the Moral Recovery Program, where she was elected as vice chairman in recognition of her non-political leadership.

[7] Muñoz-Palma strongly denounced the circumstances that led to Estrada's vacation of the presidency and the assumption into office of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

On November 30, 2006, several months after her death, Muñoz-Palma's name was enshrined at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, a monument dedicated to individuals who opposed the Marcos dictatorship and fought for the restoration of Philippine democracy.

Detail of the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani , showing names from the 2006 batch of Bantayog Honorees, including that of Cecilia Muñoz-Palma.