speech delivered by chief justice maria lourdes p. a...
TRANSCRIPT
1
Speech delivered by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P. A. Sereno during the 50th
Anniversary of the Philippine Association of Law Schools (PALS) on December
8, 2017 at the Solaire Resort and Casino, Parañaque City
Thank you, Dean [Ma. Soledad Deriquito-]Mawis (Dean, Lyceum of the
Philippines University College of Law)—my dean, our dean, your dean. (applause)
Gagawin kong isang talakayan natin ‘yong usual nating conversation. Alam
ninyo naman kapag kaharap ko kayo, hindi na ako masyadong nagpapasakalye.
Diretso tayo sa buod ng ating trabaho. Kaya’t unang-una, gusto ko lang batiin ang ilan
sa ating mga mabubuting kaibigan. Alam kong hindi siya masyadong marunong mag-
Tagalog pero ito, gusto niya, Secretary [Hernando] “Nani” Perez (Former Secretary,
Department of Justice), gusto niya mag-apply na maging Pilipino. Siya si Chief Justice
Robert [J.] Torres[, Jr.] ng Guam. (applause) ‘Yong lola niya, Ilongga. So kung
puwedeng dahil sa lola niya e Ilongga, may Filipino blood siya. Hanapan natin ng
paraan maging Pilipino rin itong Chief Justice ng Guam. (We will make our
discussion similar to our usual conversation. You know that whenever I am with
you, I go straight to the point. So first of all, I would like to greet some of our good
friends. I know that he does not speak Tagalog, but Secretary [Hernando] “Nani”
Perez (Former Secretary, Department of Justice), he wants to apply for a Filipino
citizenship. He is Chief Justice Robert [J.] Torres[,Jr.] of Guam. (applause) So since his
grandmother is an Ilongga, he has Filipino blood. Let’s find a way to make the Chief
Justice of Guam a Filipino citizen.)
[Dating] Pangalawang Pangulong Jejomar [“Jojo” C.] Binay, masaya po ako sa
bagong transformation ninyo. ([Former] Vice President Jejomar [“Jojo” C.] Binay, I
am happy about your new transformation.) Jojo Binay, if I remember him, was one
of the most fascinating litigation lawyers who used to engage in rough and tumble
litigation fighting for his human rights clients, and I remember him very vividly, and
2
I treasure those memories. And I think we can see the second wind beneath the
wings of Jojo Binay as he would try to fly again in a new path. (applause)
Chairperson Emerson [B.] Aquende (Chairperson, Legal Education Board),
alam kong pangalawang beses mo na akong binati pero pasensiya kanina na hindi
kita nabati noong nandoon ako sa kabilang event sa PICC (Philippine International
Convention Center). Now, Chairperson Aquende, kung hindi ninyo po alam, marami
siyang sinakripisyong bagay para mag-Chairperson ng LEB. Hindi maraming gusto ng
ganitong trabaho ‘pagkat napakaraming restrictions. Kayo pong mga dekano, part-
time deans karamihan sa inyo, kayo, puwede kayong mag-private practice. Si Dean
Aquende hindi na. [Chairperson Emerson [B.] Aquende (Chairperson, Legal
Education Board), I know that you have already greeted me twice, but sorry I was
not able to greet you when I was at the other event in the PICC (Philippine
International Convention Center). Now, Chairperson Aquende, if you are not aware,
he has sacrificed a lot of things to be the chairperson of the LEB. Not many people
want a job like this because it has many restrictions. You, the deans, most of you are
part-time deans, you may engage in private practice. Dean Aquende cannot.) And
this is a great sacrifice that he is doing because he believes in the future of legal
education, and he is bringing a fresh wind of change in the LEB. And I am so glad
that he is our partner.]
My dear friend, of course, Former Associate Justice Josue [N.] Bellosillo, the
dean of the CEU (Centro Escolar University) Law School—of course, once a justice,
always a justice—Dean Justice Josue Bellosillo, good evening po. Dean Soledad
Mawis, the present president of PALS (Philippine Association of Law Schools), and
she is looking forward to a few minutes from now when she will turn over the
burdens of your organization to the new president-elect. Congratulations, Sol, you
3
will be liberated soon. (laughter) Of course, Dean Sedfrey [M.] Candelaria (Dean,
Ateneo Law School and Head, Philippine Judicial Academy Research, Publications
and Linkages Office), president-elect of PALS—please be kind to him. He was
looking [forward] to an easier life. But now it seems to be a foregone conclusion that
that will not be so.
Of course, the member of the JBC (Judicial and Bar Council), Atty. [Milagros]
“Mitoy” Fernan-Cayosa and of course, [Integrated Bar of the Philippines Executive]
Vice President EVP [Atty. Domingo] “Egon” [Q.] Cayosa. (University of Sto. Tomas
College of Civil Law) Dean Nilo [T.] Divina, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of
PALS who I think is to be credited for the cohesion that the organization has been
experiencing. (applause) Congratulations. You are now twice a celebrity. (laughter)
Former presidents and officers of PALS, current officers and members of PALS,
members of the Bench and Bar, members of the academe, ladies and gentlemen,
friends, I will go straight to the point because you know, some of you had already
been working intensely with me. You know how I work. I work very hard. I have
tight deadlines. I push, I push, I push. And there is no remitting this kind of pace.
And I know that PALS is a voluntary organization. I know that very well. But having
volunteered to join PALS and be one of its officers, you have basically drafted
yourselves to an involuntary army of hard workers for legal education.
Lahat po kayo, alam ko naman pong hindi kayo naging dekano para
magpayaman kasi hindi naman po yata kayang nakawan ang kaban ng law schools
kasi ang alam ko, sina-subsidize pa nga ang law schools ng maraming universities.
Tama po ba? O alam kong laging ninyong pinag-uusapang kulang ang revenues. Kung
kulang ang revenues at wala kayong komisyon e bakit pa kayo nandiyan bilang
dekano at officers ng PALS? At iilan lamang ang masasabi ko: Gusto ninyong magsilbi
4
sa bayan. Gusto ninyong makita na ang bayan ay tuluy-tuloy na aasenso kasi
gumaganda ang serbisyo natin sa publiko. At alam ko po noong una tayong nag-usap
at nagkadiretsahan po tayo ng punto, ang unang tinanong ko sa inyo, “Ano po ba ang
punto ng pagiging abogado? Hindi po ba ito ay para manilbihan sa taong-bayan
upang ang kanilang pangangailangan sa hustisya ay sagutin ninyo?” Hindi po ba iyan
ang unang kong tanong? (All of you, I know that you did not choose to become deans
to get rich because one cannot steal from the funds of law schools because as far as I
know, law schools are subsidized by most universities. Am I correct? I know that
you always talk about the lack of revenues. If revenues are not enough and you do
not have commissions, why do you still stay as deans and officers of PALS? And I can
only say a few things: You want to serve the country. You want to see the country
develop continuously because of our improving public service. And I know that the
first time we talked and went straight to the point, the first question I asked you
was, “What is the point of being a lawyer? Isn’t it to serve others to solve their needs
for justice?” Isn’t that the first question I asked?)
Kaya’t tinanong ko sa inyo, “Tayo po ba ay labas nang labas ng ilang libong
mga successful examinees sa Bar na pinapasumpa natin bilang bagong abogado ng
bayan ngunit ano po ang nakikita nating karampatang pagtugma sa
pangangailangan ng bayan sa tunay na magiting na serbisyong legal?” At hindi niya
po ako masagot noon. At sinabi ko, “Maaari po ba, dahil kayo ang nasa akademiya,
kayo ang magaling magsiyasat ng mga bagay na ito at kami sa Korte Suprema, hindi
naman namin kayang tutukan pa ito, maaari po bang kayo kasama ang PHILJA—at
alam po ni Dean Sedfrey Candelaria ito—pwede ninyo po bang tugunin ang tanong
[na] “Ano ang klaseng serbisyong legal ang kailangan ng ating taong-bayan?” Kung
totoong 108 million na tayong mga Pilipino ngayon kasama na ang mga OFW
(overseas Filipino workers) na may mahigit sampung milyong katao na nagsisilbi sa
5
ibang bayan, ilan ang kailangan tunay na nagpa-practice ng batas at hindi po iyong
negosyante, hindi po hobbyists, hindi po artista, hindi po full-time politicians, kundi
talagang practitioners of law representing their clients? Ano ang klase ng serbisyong
kailangan nila? Ilan sila, at paano natin dapat i-distribute sa buong bayan upang
hindi ang excellent legal service ay concentrated sa Metro Manila? (That was why I
asked you, “Are we just churning out successful Bar examinees who took the oath,
but as new lawyers have we seen their commensurate response to the needs of the
country in terms of valiant legal service? And you were not able to answer me. And I
said, “Since you are in the academe, you are experts in researching on these topics,
and we in the Supreme Court do not have time to pay attention to this, can you
together with PHILJA—and Dean Sedfrey Candelaria knows this—can you please
answer the question “What is the kind of legal service needed in our country?” If it is
true that there are already 108 million of us Filipinos including the OFWs (overseas
Filipino workers) who are more than 10 million who work in other countries, how
many law practitioners do we need—not business people, not hobbyists, not
celebrities, not full-time politicians, but true practitioners of law representing their
clients. What is the kind of service that people need? How many are they, and how
should they be distributed to the whole country so that excellent legal service is not
only concentrated in Metro Manila?)
Kung naaalala ninyo po, iyon ang challenge ko sa inyo. At sinabi ko, “Kami sa
Supreme Court, tutugon kami sa hinihingi ninyong pagbabago ngunit bigyan ninyo
kami ng datos ‘pagkat hindi namin kayang i-survey ang buong bansa at tanungin sa
mga mamamayan ang kanilang kailangan para sa serbisyong legal. Kaya’t hinamon
ko po kayo at sinabi ko, “Ano ang kailangan ninyong tulong? Ibibigay ko. Naghihintay
lamang ako ng kaunting panahon upang makita ang resulta ng inyong pagsisiyasat
[kung] ano po ba ang talagang kailangan ng Pilipino.” Saan po ba dapat tayo
6
maraming abogado? Kailangan po ba sa larangan ng lupa? Ibig sabihin, kung totoo po
ito Chairperson Aquende, bigyan po natin ng karampatang atensiyon ang mga batas
ukol sa lupa. Kailangan po ba natin ng serbisyo ukol sa human rights at
pagkakawatak-watak ng ating bayan at ang pag-deprive sa kanila ng mga karapatan
nila, ito po ba ay kailan nating prayoridad? (If you can still remember, that was my
challenge to you. And I said, “We in the Supreme Court, we will respond to your call
for change, but please give us data because we cannot survey the whole country and
ask the people about their needs for legal service. That is why I challenged you and
said, “What kind of help do you need? I will give it to you. I am just waiting for a little
bit of time to see the results of your survey [on] what the Filipinos really need.” In
what field should we have more lawyers? Do we need more lawyers who are experts
in land titles and deeds? In other words, if this is the case, Chairperson Aquende, we
should give more focus on land laws. Do we need service for the protection of
human rights, the lack of unity, and the deprivation of rights—should this be our
priority?)
Chairperson Aquende, kailangan nating i-equip ang mga law students pa
lamang para sa ganoong serbisyo—serbisyo ukol sa human rights. Kailangan ba iyong
pananatili sa kanilang tirahan? Kailangan ba iyong tulong sa ekonomiyang bagay
gaya ng livelihood? Kailangan ba iyong pagtutulong sa mga ordinaryong tao ng
paggawa ng kontrata? Ito po ba ang kailangan nating tutukan? Kung gayon po na
ang mga mahihirap lalo na hindi kayang kumuha ng abogado para gumawa ng
simpleng kontrata, bakit hindi po tayo magkaroon ng mga klase ng tao na hindi
kailangang full-fledged lawyers kundi mga paralegal lamang na matuturan natin
upang gumawa ng simpleng affidavit, simpleng kontrata—iyong mga pinaka-
kailangan talaga ng ordinaryong Pilipino. Paano iyong mga OFW? Dalawang linggo
lamang silang umuuwi dito sa bayan natin. Ano po ba ang mga problemang kailangan
7
nilang asikasuhin? Iyong dalawang linggo, hindi po kasya iyon upang mag-rebond sila
with their family. Tulungan natin, iwasan natin ang problema nila by reaching out to
them and helping them transform so that they can fight for their legal rights when
they get back. (Chairperson Aquende, we need to equip the students while they are
still in law school for that kind of service—service for the protection of human
rights. Do they need legal service in securing their property rights? Do they need
help in economic rights such as livelihood [programs]? Do ordinary people need
help in drafting contacts? Do we need to focus on this? If this is the case and the
unfortunate cannot afford lawyers to draft a simple contract, why don’t we have
people who are not necessarily full-fledged lawyers but paralegals who we can teach
to draft simple affidavits, simple contracts—which are what ordinary Filipinos need
the most. How about the OFWs? They only stay here for two weeks while on
vacation. What are the problems that they need to address? Those two weeks are
not enough to bond with their family. Let us help them solve their problems by
reaching out to them and helping them transform so that they can fight for their
legal rights when they get back.)
That’s why we have the [Revised Rules of Procedure for] Small Claims Cases
right now where if you have claims of P200,000 or less, you just file an affidavit, the
answer is in affidavit form, a hearing is conducted within one day. Within 24 hours,
you have a decision already that is already executable.
Ang hinihingi ko po bale ay isang starting point—an assessment of the legal
needs of the Philippines so that we in the Supreme Court will make changes
corresponding to the needs that you have identified. Ulit kayo nang ulit sa amin,
bawasan ang mga subject sa Bar exam. Ang tinatanong ko, “Alin ang una nating
tatanggalin?” Sabihin ninyo sa amin. Sabihin ninyo ang dahilan at pag-uusapan
8
namin at ipu-push namin. Alam ninyo po, alam ko na iyong mga subjects natin e
1960s pa natin dinesisyunan. Kumbaga kayo, may 50 years na. Iyong Rules of Court
provisions may 53 years na. Mas matanda pa sa inyo. Hindi pa namin nababago.
(What I am asking for a starting point—an assessment of the legal needs of the
Philippines so that we in the Supreme Court will make changes corresponding to the
needs that you have identified. You always tell us to lessen the subjects in the Bar
exams. I always ask, “Which one should we remove first?” Tell us. Tell us why, and
we will discuss it and push for it. You know, I am aware that the subjects were
chosen during the 1960s. Like you, these have been around for 50 years. The Rules
of Court provisions are already 53 years old. These are older than you. We have not
changed them yet.)
That’s why we’re going to have a national discussion on revising the Rules of
Court to make it more modern. And one of the provisions there is the admission to
the Bar. Do we really need just one category of lawyers or several categories of legal
professionals, legal technicians, or legal assistants? Should you in fact introduce to
your students more what actual court litigation is?
Hindi ba dapat maintindihan ng mga estudyante ninyo (Shouldn’t your
students understand…) that there is such a thing as a process server, a clerk of
court, a legal researcher, a legal stenographer so that they can understand the flavor
and gamut of practice in courts? And Sol, you have told me several times [that] your
students enjoy so much internship in our courts. We want to open our courts to the
public because I firmly believe the judiciary belongs to the people. We have to have
a judiciary where people can really relate to it. The judiciary does not belong to the
justices of the Supreme Court. We have no entitlement or right to it. Rather, we must
push and drive home the point that everywhere has a stake in the judiciary.
9
Kaya’t iyan po ang ginagawa natin. (So that is what we are doing.) That’s why
I make it a point to announce to all of you already, the next chairpersons of the next
few years of Bar examinations. Maaga pa ina-announce ko na sa inyo para alam
ninyo, kausapan ninyo (Early on, I already announce to you so that you know and
you may talk to them…) so that [the] connection that you have with the
chairpersons will be intense and long-running because my requesting to the
Committee on Continuing Legal Education and Bar Matters especially the Sub-
Committee on Admission to the Bar is the Bar examinations must be stable. We must
have a consistent policy para kayo hindi nahihirapan sa (…so that you are not having
a hard time in…) law schools. And I want to work in partnership with Chairperson
Aquende.
Of course, your mandate can be larger than those who are going to be
admitted to the Bar. But to a certain extent, I have to admit you will be influenced by
what we in the Supreme Court will do because you are going to promise, you will
always be promising your students that they would have a good chance of passing
the Bar exams if they enter your schools. So you cannot escape the fact that you will
be influenced by every decision that we make in the Supreme Court. That is why I
have made sure that the officers are involved in as many committees as possible. I
have supported your push for greater clinical legal aid because you have seen that
the education of the students become alive because they are really exposed to what
happens in the field—not theoretical but skills based as Dean [Ernesto P.]
Maceda[,Jr.] (College of Law, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila) has said.
Okay, that being said, you have always noted my passion for reform of legal
education. Although this is not my constitutional mandate, it’s Dean Aquende’s, I
10
know, we cannot avoid influencing your work, Dean Aquende. I have already taken a
leap of faith actually when I said we need more, not less lawyers.
You know that lagi na lang sinasabi, “Sobrang daming abogado, mga pilosopo
sa Pilipinas, kailangan mabawasan.” Tapos laging ini-invoke nila iyong linya sa play
ni [William] Shakespeare na “[Let’s] kill all the lawyers.” I don’t believe in that at all.
(You know what they always say, “There are too many lawyers, pedants in the
country. Their number should lessened.” Then they always invoke that line from the
play of [William] Shakespeare: “[Let’s] kill all the lawyers.” I don’t believe in that at
all.)
I think lawyers will drive this country in a way that can be very positive if
only we are faithful to our oath. I took a leap of faith, it is a risk by my always
pushing for more lawyers because I believe that Filipinos are underserved in the
area of justice. It is possible that our public image is not good because they think of
lawyers as having a sense of entitlement. That is a defect, I have to admit that. And
we as a profession must learn to be humble.
Kung maaari, iyong mga plaka na “lawyer,” tanggalin ninyo na para hindi nila
sinasabing mayabang tayo. But I think our country will be so benefited by ethical,
good, excellent lawyers. Iyon ang kailangan natin. Iyon ang kailangan natin so that
idealism will be awakened in the hearts of our young people. (If you can, please
remove those “lawyer” special car plates so that they will stop saying that we are
arrogant. But I think our country will be so benefited by ethical, good, excellent
lawyers. That is what we need. We need that so that idealism will be awakened in
the hearts of our young people.)
Let them see fantastic cross-examination by an ethical lawyer. Let them see
judges who are so dignified in their manner, in their demeanor, in how they address
11
the objection of both parties. Let them see courts that are so technologically enabled
that even with traffic, you can make your day count. In other words, you won’t enter
into fights anymore with your clients kung binill ninyo sila pati sa (…if you charge
them even for the...) time spent in traffic.
So what am I saying? You have a leadership—and you have witnessed this
since I assumed office that is open to your ideas. I have been listening all these five
years, and I believe in the ideas that you have been sharing with each other. I believe
in your desire for a progressive education that will immediately equip every
graduate of yours to be good lawyers who can be immediately be thrown into the
field and not just filled and crammed with theories but actually who are skilled and
who can immediately give assistance to Filipinos.
I have said this in one speech: I think there is injustice if a poor family sells
their carabao, sells their land, mortgages a piece of property only for the chance to
graduate from a law school so that they can have a chance to pass the Bar. And if it is
a provincial law school and the law school is understaffed to have a very poor
chance of making it, it is unjust, it is a waste of human resources. We have the
collective duty to ensure that not a single resource in the Philippines is wasted
because of dreams that are frustrated because we are not sufficiently supportive of
it. The moment you enroll one person in your school, you have the moral duty to
give it every shot that you can to increase the chance that that person will fulfill his
dream. But it is also your moral duty to emphasize that the dream is not for him or
her alone. That dream is only alive and is only valid because it is meant to serve his
fellowman. It is meant to serve another human being in need. It is meant to serve
our country.
12
So again, I make this appeal to you. I don’t see this as a group that just
socializes. I see you as carrying the potential to lift our country to greater heights of
heroism and excellence. Never fail to inspire your students. Never fail to talk to them
of big dreams. Never fail to retell stories of heroes who fought for our freedoms,
who fought for our rights, who fought for a vision of a great country. Share your
heart with your students. Their lives are in your hands. You have the moral duty to
make sure that they do not end up broken and frustrated because they did not see in
you the idealism that law should carry.
I encourage you in every way and I have promised that I will walk every step
that is necessary to see your dreams as an organization come alive within the
mandate that the Constitution has given me. I am a teacher at heart, and I cannot but
feel your hearts as well. So from one teacher to another—a teacher who just
happens to be the chief magistrate of the land—you have my undying support and
you have a promise that I have fulfilled all these five years: I will do my best to set
always the judiciary as a model of quiet dignity, of the Rule of Law, of the love of
freedom, truth, justice, and righteousness.
Mabuhay ang PALS! (Long live PALS!)
May you have greater 50 years ahead!