Retired Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban, FLP Chairman, believes that in litigations involving the civil liberty of our people, the scales of justice should weigh heavily against the government and in favor of the people, pursuant to the doctrine of strict scrutiny. But in matters affecting the economy of the country and the prosperity of our people, courts—in the absence of grave abuse of discretion—must defer to the Executive and Legislative Branches of government, in accordance with the principle of deferential interpretation of laws and executive issuances. He also believes in private enterprise as the engine of economic growth. Thus, government must promote entrepreneurship and encourage private capital. At the same time, the government has the duty of overseeing the fair and equitable distribution of private wealth to all our people, especially the poor and marginalized. The government, likewise, has the responsibility of enlarging the areas of economic growth for the benefit of future generations of Filipinos.
The Foundation for Liberty & Prosperity (FLP) was established nearly a decade ago to promote and propagate the judicial philosophy of our former chief justice, summed up as “Liberty and Prosperity under the Rule of Law”. Its main agenda is to create programs that will support the country’s government and business sectors in ensuring inclusive economic growth and expansion. The FLP believes that the economic pie must not only be fairly divided but must also be enlarged so that more benefits could be spread to more people under the social justice principle of giving more law to those who have less in life. At the same time, the FLP also asserts that promoting and developing the country’s economy must be the primary responsibility of its political leaders. In many ways, these perspectives entail paradigm shifts that are necessary to attain the full potential of the Philippines as a rapid developing nation.
To mark its 10th anniversary, the FLP has commenced planning and fundraising for a library and research center, as well as a futuristic museum that will benefit an even larger audience.
The FLP’s founding Board of Trustees was composed of Artemio V. Panganiban (retired Chief Justice), Chairman, with Hilario G. Davide Jr. (retired Chief Justice), Edilberto C. De Jesus (former Philippine Secretary of Education and President of the Asian Institute of Management), Joel Emerson J. Gregorio (FLP’s Corporate Secretary), Jennifer J. Manalili (Commissioner at the Professional Regulation Commission of the Philippines), Maria Theresa P. Mañalac (Professor at the Asian Institute of Management), Elenita C. Panganiban (former Associate Dean of the Asian Institute of Management), Washington Z. Sycip (founder of the Asian Institute of Management and Sycip Gorres Velayo and Company), and Maria Elena P. Yaptangco (President and Chief Executive of The Baron Travel Corporation), as members.
Current members of its Board of Trustees (as of October 2019) are Artemio V. Panganiban (retired Chief Justice), Chairman, with Edilberto C. De Jesus (former Philippine Secretary of Education and President of the Asian Institute of Management), Evelyn Toledo- Dumdum (FLP’s President and former World Bank Consultant), Joel Emerson J. Gregorio (ADB Consultant, Law Professor and FLP’s Corporate Secretary), Tanya Karina A. Lat (Law Professor and former Executive Director of the Philippine Association of Law Schools), Elenita C. Panganiban (former Associate Dean of the Asian Institute of Management), Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez (retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court), Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. (retired Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas), and Maria Elena P. Yaptangco (President and Chief Executive of The Baron Travel Corporation), as members.
Successfully tapping the legal minds from the top law schools in the country, the FLP has advanced its goals through its core education programs: the Chief Justice Panganiban Professorial Chairs on Liberty & Prosperity (co-sponsored by the Metrobank Foundation), the Legal Scholarship Program (in partnership with the Tan Yan Kee Foundation), and the Dissertation Writing Contest (in partnership with the Ayala Group). Proudly supporting excelling law students, the FLP now boasts of two bar exam topnotchers and a great majority of its scholars who graduated with honors.
The Foundation for Liberty & Prosperity was issued a certificate of incorporation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 27, 2011.