MANILA, Philippines — New lawyers have already taken their oath albeit online, which is a first in history, and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) offered a piece of tenacious advice: “excel without sacrificing honor.”
According to IBP President Domingo Cayosa, it might be hard for new lawyers to carve their names in the industry but that there is a way to achieve things while keeping their values intact.
“You are new in the legal profession yet you can excel without sacrificing honor; be brave without being boastful; be dynamic, never indifferent. Lead and lend a helping hand,” the veteran lawyer noted in a statement Thursday.
“You made history for taking your oath online. Harness technology to improve access to justice and to deliver justice faster and more efficiently. JUSTICE BILIS not justice tiis,” he added.
Supreme Court justices administered the oath to 2,103 Bar passers online earlier Thursday in consideration of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.
Senior Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, who chaired the 2019 Bar examinations, told the new lawyers in her speech: “Historically, you will not only be known as the first batch of lawyers to have been sworn-in online but to a greater extent, the first batch to have commenced your legal practice during a debilitating global pandemic.”
In the Philippines, the legal profession is a well-respected practice as many lawyers hold significant government posts. For starters, President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo are lawyers.
But many lawyers also drew flak over perceived manipulation of the law to their advantage – by either twisting the law or using loopholes in the law to get away from accountability.
Cayosa, however, explained that being a lawyer is both a great opportunity and a huge responsibility as “lawyering is a noble profession.” He then reminded new lawyers that knowledge of the law should be used to know the truth and attain social justice.
“More than a goal or a status, being a lawyer is a great opportunity and a huge responsibility for you to make law and legal processes bring about a better family, community, country, and humanity. Beyond arguing, winning or ‘doing justice’, a true lawyer actively promotes truth, social justice, and peace,” Cayosa pointed out.
“Lawyering is a noble profession, at times challenging, difficult, or dangerous. When in a dilemma or at crossroads, remember the oath that you took, act within our professional ethics, and courageously do what is right and just,” he added.