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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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!