Teaching Law in the grand manner and making great lawyers. That, I believe, has been fulfilled by the University of the Philippines College of Law (UP Law), from the time it was established in 1911, to the time it transferred to the Diliman campus in 1948, and up to this very day.
Indeed, much has been said and written about the greatness of UP Law, but none so distinct as its tradition of public service. The University, especially the College of Law, has put a premium on public service right after graduation, being true to the calling of an “Iskolar ng Bayan”.
At one time or another, a UP Law graduate has served government and served it well, with four Presidents, three Vice-Presidents, eight Senate Presidents, five Speakers of the House, and thirteen Supreme Court Chief Justices, not to mention those who served in the Cabinet, in Congress, and in the Judiciary.
In the current Senate, for example, we have Senate President Koko Pimentel; Senate President Pro Tempore Frank Drilon; Senators Dick Gordon, Sonny Angara, Kiko Pangilinan and Chiz Escudero. In the House we have my good classmate Cong. Ronnie Cosalan as well as Representatives Kit Belmonte, Rodel Batocabe, Pia Cayetano, Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, and Deputy Speaker Miro Quimbo, just to name a few.
In the Executive Branch we have Foreign Affairs Secretary Jun Yasay, Philippine Competition Commissioners Johannes R. Bernabe and El Cid R. Butuyan, and Cabinet Undersecretary and former Kabataan Partylist Representative Terry Ridon. I must make mention of my other classmates in public service, namely Judge Princess Bustos Ongkeko of Santa Cruz, Laguna; former Justice Secretary Emmanuel “Copper” Caparas, former Solicitor General Joel Cadiz, and former Congressmen Jacinto “Jing” Paras and Ruy Elias Lopez.
For the Judiciary we have Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco, Marvic Leonen, Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Jose Perez, and Francis Jardeleza. We also have Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Karl B. Miranda.
However, in a recent Board meeting of the UP Law Alumni Association (UPLAA) and the UP Law Alumni Foundation (UPLAF), we noted a decrease in public sector interest and an increase in private sector pursuits. Observing law classes, there seems to be a piqued interest in subjects covering commercial law. Perhaps this is the trend among millennials.
Recently, a testimonial was tendered by the UP Law faculty, UPLAA and UPLAF for UP Law Alumni in public service. It was part of what we needed to “rekindle the passion” of public service, to awaken the strong sense of idealism, to change the world by serving people through government.
In his speech, UPLAF President and former Defense Secretary, Atty. Avelino “Nonong” Cruz Jr., shared a story about a man who called his son to him as he lay on his deathbed. The man told his son that, in looking back on his life, he seemed to have fulfilled all that he needed to fulfill and yet, there was this gnawing feeling of being unfulfilled; that there was something else yet to be done. He then realized what was lacking— he did not heed the call to be in public service. He admonished his son to fulfill what he had not: to serve in government; and, to serve well.
We need to bring back this burning desire to serve government and to serve well — with the highest standards of probity, honesty, integrity.
You cannot get any grander than that.
