WHAT more can I still say about this great lady to whom we say goodbye tonight that has not already been said by the many who have already eulogized her.

She was a person endowed with many gifts. She was possessed of profound learning in the laws of man and an equally profound ethical sense. She was kind and gentle of mien but firm and uncompromising in the defense of human rights and the Rule of Law, and as much at peace with her friends and family as with persons of the law and the bench.

She had a most admirable relationship with her husband, Dean Rodolfo Palma, or "Rodong," as he was known to their numerous friends. We know that Justice Celing and Dean Rodong were both successful in their careers, she in a public way; he, privately and quietly. She made a name for herself in the judiciary and in other areas of government, notably as a legislator and as head of the presidential commission which drafted the Constitution by which our country is now governed. Dean Rodong gained recognition as an expert teacher, much in demand as a law professor and bar reviewer in Civil Law, a dean of one of the larger law schools in the country, and as member of the Judicial and Bar Council. But their careers never came between them, never disturbed their love and affection for each other or their solicitous care and concern for their children and family.

Understandably, Justice Celing had a passionate regard for the Constitution which she defended and vindicated on every occasion especially during the Martial Law years unmindful of her own personal security and well-being. She loved the Supreme Court with equal ardor, in which she had served for ten years with devotion and honor, and spoke out in its defense at every instance when challenges were mounted against it.

She was always cordial and warm towards me and my wife. I want to think that she counted us among her special friends. It is a friendship that I recall with fondness and treasure to this day.

Now the angels have taken her to Heaven. There, I am sure, she prays for all of us whom she has left behind.