LEGAL OPINION RE ENTITLEMENT TO UNIFORM/CLOTHING ALLOWANCE

LEGAL OPINION NO. ________


DATE : 6 JUNE 2011

TO : JULIETA R. GASTALA
City Budget Officer
City of Koronadal

RE : UNIFORM/CLOTHING ALLOWANCE CLAIM

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Elric M. Batilaran, employee of the Koronadal Investment Center, who is currently in Japan on a scholarship program sponsored by NEDA, in a letter dated 24 May 2011, requests that the clothing allowance for the year 2011 be granted to him. He represents, as follows:
x x x

“The main meat of this letter is about my disallowance to receive a clothing allowance this year amounting to Four Thousand Pesos (Php 4,000) despite my inquiry and intentions to avail for it. I had received a Budget Circular Number 2003-8 dated 8 December 2003 on Rules and Regulations on the Grant of Uniform/Clothing Allowance to all Government Personnel for FY 2004 and years thereafter” signed Secretary Emilia T. Bancodin as the basis of our LGU’s Budget Office for not granting me the said benefit. When I was reviewing the content of the said Budget Circular, I cannot find any legitimate rationalization in there that would disallow me to receive the said benefit as I am a government employee who is on leave with pay.”

x x x

The bone of his contention is that the denial of the said uniform/clothing allowance by the City Budget Office was due to its erroneous reliance on Item No. 2 of the said circular which provides that:

x x x

“2.0 COVERAGE AND EXEMPTIONS

This Circular shall apply to all government personnel, whether appointive or elective on full-time or part-time basis, under permanent, temporary or casual status, and contractual personnel whose employment is in the nature of a regular employee.

It shall not apply, however, to the following:

x x x

2.3 Government personnel who are on leave without pay or on training/study/scholarship grant and other similar activities for more than six (6) consecutive months in a particular year.” [Emphasis added]

x x x


Mr. Batilaran posits that his scholarship in Japan is considered as on leave with pay; hence, the said provision should not be applied to him, presumably taking into consideration the provision found in Item No. 3.2 which states that “[g]overnment personnel who are expected to render at least six (6) consecutive months in a particular year including leaves of absence with pay shall be entitled to U/CA.”

The issue that needs to be resolved via the instant Legal Opinion therefore is: Whether or not Mr. Elric Batilaran, a city government employee who is presently on scholarship grant and on official leave with pay, is entitled to receive uniform/clothing allowance.

The undersigned answers in the AFFIRMATIVE.

It is important to stress that DBM Local Budget Circular No. 2003-8 has already been amended by DBM Local Budget Circular No. 2003-8-A-04, issued on 2 July 2004. Said amendment provides that:

x x x

1.0 Purpose

This Circular is issued to amend Sub-item 2.3 of Budget Circular (BC) No. 2003-8 dated December 8, 2003 by excluding government employees on training/study/scholarship grant and other similar activities from the list of those not covered by the BC.

It shall not apply, however, to the following:

xxx xxx xxx

2.3 Government personnel who are on leave without pay for more than six (6) consecutive months in a particular year.” [Emphasis added]

x x x


Said amendment has effectively removed all doubts besetting the entitlement of Mr. Elric Batilaran to U/CA. Attached herewith for easy reference is the machine copy of DBM Budget Circular No. 2003-8-A-04.



RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:





EUFEMIO A. SIMTIM, JR.
City Legal Officer


- and -




MYRA JOY H. LAWI-AN, LLB
Legal Assistant II

ADDENDUM TO LEGAL OPINION NO. 5-12-2011

ADDENDUM

[Legal Opinion Re Proposed Mini-Hydropower Plant Project]


The primordial issue that needs to be resolved via the instant addendum is –
Whether or not a barangay resolution from the Sangguniang Barangay of Brgy. Carpenter Hill is a pre-requisite before the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Koronadal could grant legislative authority to the City Mayor to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with a private entity relative to the rehabilitation of the mini-hydro power plant situated in the said barangay.

The undersigned answers in the NEGATIVE.

Nowhere is it found in the Local Government Code of 1991 (LGC ’91) that a favorable resolution from the Sangguniang Barangay must first be secured before the Sangguniang Panlungsod could grant the City Mayor the legislative authority to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in behalf of the city government. Otherwise, it would place the operation of the city government under the discretion, or worse, at the mercy of its own component unit.

The requirement of prior legislative authority is found in Section 22 of the LGC ’91 which provides, thus:

x x x

“(c) Unless otherwise provided in this Code, no contract may be entered into by the local chief executive in behalf of the local government unit without prior authorization by the sanggunian concerned. A legible copy of such contract shall be posted at a conspicuous place in the provincial capitol or the city, municipal or barangay hall.”

x x x

Clearly, nothing therein suggests or implies any prior referral to the barangay council for the passage of a barangay resolution.
In relation to the rehabilitation of the hydro-power plant, the LGC ’91 likewise provides, to wit:

Section 17. Basic Services and Facilities. -

(a) Local government units shall endeavor to be self-reliant and shall continue exercising the powers and discharging the duties and functions currently vested upon them. They shall also discharge the functions and responsibilities of national agencies and offices devolved to them pursuant to this Code. Local government units shall likewise exercise such other powers and discharge such other functions and responsibilities as are necessary, appropriate, or incidental to efficient and effective provisions of the basic services and facilities enumerated herein.

(b) Such basic services and facilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

x x x

(3) For a Province:
(iii) Pursuant to national policies and subject to supervision, control and review of the DENR, enforcement of forestry laws limited to community-based forestry projects, pollution control law, small-scale mining law, and other laws on the protection of the environment; and mini-hydroelectric projects for local purposes;

x x x

(4) For a City:

All the services and facilities of the municipality and province xxx.

x x x

While the LGC ’91 requires prior consultation with respect to the implementation of any project or program, said requirement is specifically obtaining among national agencies and offices only vis-à-vis the LGUs, thus:

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. -

x x x

(c) It is likewise the policy of the State to require all national agencies and offices to conduct periodic consultations with appropriate local government units, nongovernmental and people's organizations, and other concerned sectors of the community before any project or program is implemented in their respective jurisdictions.

x x x

CHAPTER III

Intergovernmental Relations

ARTICLE I

National Government and Local Government Units

x x x

Section 26. Duty of National Government Agencies in the Maintenance of Ecological Balance. - It shall be the duty of every national agency or government-owned or controlled corporation authorizing or involved in the planning and implementation of any project or program that may cause pollution, climatic change, depletion of non-renewable resources, loss of crop land, rangeland, or forest cover, and extinction of animal or plant species, to consult with the local government units, nongovernmental organizations, and other sectors concerned and explain the goals and objectives of the project or program, its impact upon the people and the community in terms of environmental or ecological balance, and the measures that will be undertaken to prevent or minimize the adverse effects thereof.

Section 27. Prior Consultations Required. - No project or program shall be implemented by government authorities unless the consultations mentioned in Sections 2 (c) and 26 hereof are complied with, and prior approval of the sanggunian concerned is obtained: Provided, That occupants in areas where such projects are to be implemented shall not be evicted unless appropriate relocation sites have been provided, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

x x x

To be certain, the prior public consultation, specifically with the barangay unit concerned, is a requirement found, not under the LGC ’91, but under the Environmental Impact Assessment process pursuant to the REVISED PROCEDURAL MANUAL FOR DENR ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 30 SERIES OF 2003 (DAO 03-30) (Implementing Rules and Regulations of Presidential Decree No. 1586, Establishing the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System), which provides, to wit:

x x x

“11) Public Participation in the EIA Process

Public participation shall be demonstrated through the following activities:

a) As part of the social preparation process at pre-Scoping, Information, Education and Communication (IEC) of LGUs is now explicitly required at the minimum of PEIS/EIS based applications for new or modification proposals for which Public Scoping is a requirement. The IEC serves as a basis for preliminary identification of stakeholders and related issues in preparation for the Scoping proper. The revised Manual presents proforma documents and supplementing guidelines for proper and timely identification of stakeholders to be invited for Scoping and to be covered by the EIA Study.

b) Public Scoping for PEIS/EIS-based new projects is now more meaningful as community inputs will precede the Technical Scoping of the EIA Review Team with the Proponent, and will be formally considered before the sign-off of the Scoping Checklist that comprises the final TOR of the EIA Study. Key stakeholder representatives, EMB personnel, EIA Review Committee and the Proponent/Preparer representatives also sign off the List of Issues raised during the Public Scoping.

c) The conduct of the EIA Study shall include local stakeholders, who may serve as local expert sources, aides/guides and resource persons in primary data collection to optimize access to indigenous knowledge of the environment, or as interviewers/ interviewees in the socio-economic/perception surveys which shall be used as the basis for the subsequent formulation of social development plans, IEC, monitoring plans and other components of the environmental management plans. LGUs and government agencies shall specifically be consulted and involved in the drafting of the project’s Social Development Plan (SDP) Framework. The EIA Scoping and EIA Report Outline/Content allocate specific sections for a presentation and discussion of Public Participation process and outcomes, to be subject to the review of the EIA Review Committee and evaluation of the EMB during the Site Visit done simultaneously with either Public Hearing or Public Consultation, where applicable.

d) As a form of disclosure of the EIA findings, Public Hearing is required for all new ECPs for which Public Scoping was undertaken and for PEIS-based applications. A waiver of the Public Hearing requested by the Proponent may be granted by the DENR-EMB subject to the absence of mounting opposition or written request for one with valid basis and Public Consultation may be conducted instead of Public Hearing. The Notice of Public Hearing provides explicit instructions on registration, access to the EIA Report (with Project Fact Sheet written in the local dialect or mixed with the popularly known language of the host communities), preparation of position papers, and on the mechanics of how issues may be received before or during the hearing. Prior to Public Hearings or Public Consultations, the Proponent is required to give copies of the full EIA Report to the EMB RO and host municipalities; copies of Executive Summary to the host barangays; and copies of Project Fact Sheets to other stakeholders for a well-informed participation in the hearing/consultation process.

e) Once an ECC/CNC is issued, the EIA recommendations are transmitted by the DENREMB to the concerned GAs and LGUs to be considered in their decision-making process. This results to a more integrated, coordinated and participative safeguarding of environmental concerns.

f) Post-ECC multi-sectoral validation of a Proponent’s self-monitoring results is instituted for PEIS/EIS-based projects. On the side of the EMB, through its Project Environmental Monitoring and Audit Prioritization Scheme (PEMAPS), a mechanism is provided for determination of EMB monitoring strategy and EMB monitoring priority rank a project will be assigned to, which provides guidance to the public on the applicable monitoring schemes for the project.”

x x x

However, the EIA Process has nothing to do with the requirement of legislative authority under consideration as such requirement is prescribed in an application for Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), which properly falls within the province of the DENR.

The execution of the proposed MOA is simply an initiatory act before the whole process shall take place, to include the conduct of a feasibility study by the proponent, with the consent of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) which owns the project. It is during the feasibility study (FS) stage when a proponent defines its range of actions and considers project alternatives. The MOA will simply serve as the basis for securing the consent of NIA in leasing its aforesaid property for purposes of rehabilitation to be jointly undertaken by the proponent and the LGU. Indeed, the proposed MOA provides that the LGU shall “assist in facilitating necessary and related permits and licenses which are required by national and/or local law for the rehabilitation and later operation of the HEP system” and shall “take the lead in the peaceful and diplomatic resolution of issues with landowners within the HEP system and/or other interested parties.”

Respectfully submitted:



EUFEMIO A. SIMTIM, JR.
City Legal Officer

LEGAL OPINION NO. 11-18-2010

Republic of the Philippines
Province of South Cotabato
City of Koronadal
CITY LEGAL OFFICE
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LEGAL OPINION NO. ________


DATE : November 18, 2010

TO : ENGR. RUEL C. TIANCHON
Office of the City Engineer
City of Koronadal

RE : Application for Demolition Permit of Robert V. Dizon

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Respectfully returned to the City Engineer, City Engineering Office, City of Koronadal, his within request for opinion on whether the City Engineer may issue a Demolition Permit in as much as an Adverse Claim and a Notice of Lis Pendens have been annotated on the TCT-T-13703.

The undersigned are of the opinion that the City Engineer may grant demolition permit being applied for subject to the conditions set forth under the National Building Code and related laws.

While the issue of ownership is one of a justiciable character, the determination of which is lodged with the courts, the matter of the issuance of a demolition permit is well within the authority vested by law upon the building official. Unless prevented by a temporary retraining order (TRO) or a writ of injunction, the exercise of such authority is warranted as long as the conditions for the issuance of a demolition permit are met and satisfied, especially so when the property involved poses hazards to the public.

A notice of lis pendens is governed by Rule 13, Section 14 of the Revised Rules of Court, which states:

x x x


“Sec. 14. Notice of lis pendens. — In an action affecting the title or the right of possession of real property, the plaintiff and the defendant, when affirmative relief is claimed in his answer, may record in the office of the registry of deeds of the province in which the property is situated a notice of the pendency of the action. Said notice shall contain the names of the parties and the object of the action or defense, and a description of the property in that province affected thereby. Only from the time of filing such notice for record shall a purchaser, or encumbrancer of the property affected thereby, be deemed to have constructive notice of the pendency of the action, and only of its pendency against the parties designated by their real names.

The notice of lis pendens hereinabove mentioned may be cancelled only upon order of the court, after proper showing that the notice is for the purpose of molesting the adverse party, or that it is not necessary to protect the rights of the party who caused it to be recorded.” (Emphasis added)

x x x


A notice of lis pendens is an announcement to the whole world that a particular real property is in litigation, serving as a warning that one who acquires interest over said property does so at his own risk, or that he gambles on the result of the litigation over the said property. The filing of a notice of lis pendens charges all strangers with notice of the particular litigation referred to therein and, therefore, any right they may thereafter acquire over the property is subject to the eventuality of the suit. Such announcement is founded upon public policy and necessity, the purpose of which is to keep the properties in litigation within the power of the court until the litigation is terminated and to prevent the defeat of the judgment or decree by subsequent alienation. (LU vs. LU YM, SR., G.R. No. 153690, 4 August 2009). The Honorable Supreme Court has likewise held, thus:


x x x


“The filing of a notice of lis pendens has a two-fold effect: (1) to keep the subject matter of the litigation within the power of the court until the entry of the final judgment in order to prevent the final judgment from being defeated by successive alienations; and (2) to bind a purchaser, bona fide or not, of the land subject of the litigation to the judgment or decree that the court will promulgate subsequently.”

This Court has interpreted the notice as:

“The notice is but an incident in an action, an extrajudicial one, to be sure. It does not affect the merits thereof. It is intended merely to constructively advise, or warn, all people who deal with the property that they so deal with it at their own risk, and whatever rights they may acquire in the property in any voluntary transaction are subject to the results of the action, and may well be inferior and subordinate to those which may be finally determined and laid down therein. The cancellation of such a precautionary notice is therefore also a mere incident in the action, and may be ordered by the Court having jurisdiction of it at any given time. And its continuance or removal-like the continuance or removal of a preliminary attachment of injunction-is not contingent on the existence of a final judgment in the action, and ordinarily has no effect on the merits thereof.” (Heirs of Sy Bang vs. Sy, G.R. No. 114217, 13 October 2009)

x x x


A notice of adverse claim, on the other hand, is nothing but a notice of a claim adverse to the registered owner, the validity of which is yet to be established in court at some future date, and is no better than a notice of lis pendens which is a notice of a case already pending in court. (Acap vs. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 118114. December 7, 1995)

Unless therefore a TRO or a writ of injunction is issued by the court, the building official is not prohibited by a mere notice of lis pendens or of an adverse claim from issuing a demolition permit, provided that all the requirements are complied with.

Yours truly,



[Sgd.]ATTY. EUFEMIO A. SIMTIM, JR.
City Legal Officer


- and -


[Sgd.]ALEXANDER A. ALCAZAR
Legal Assistant II


Cc:
Office of the City Mayor
Office of the City Engineer
File

WARMING UP THE SENIORS FOR GLOBAL CHALLENGES

ATTY. EUFEMIO A. SIMTIM, JR.
Mindanao State University
General Santos City
Maalab Seniors’ Night

A pleasant evening to everyone! Magandang Gensan! Kanami Koronadal!

Last week, in one ordinary evening, I opened my Facebook Account. I noticed that I had one new friend’s request pending, over and above some fifty (50) or so other pending requests. Without entertaining any second thought, though, I accepted it. That was the first request. After a short while, he sent me a private message, introduced himself as the president of the Senior’s Club of MSU-GSC, and asked me if I could be the guest speaker for the Seniors’ Night. That was the second request. Mindful of my unpredictable work schedule, I left the second request pending. While I gave an affirmative reply later, still, I was not certain about this engagement until last night.

I have always talked before a crowd -- different crowds, large and small; and I never had difficulty organizing and conveying my thoughts. But when I was preparing for my speech, for tonight’s occasion, I had a hard time in gathering, condensing, tacking and keeping my thoughts together, having to summon my immediate and remote past, including my memories of Mindanao State University, so as to be able to prepare an inspiring message I am now tasked to give you. It was not as easy as I thought it would be - as I realized that this one must be special and extraordinary. I have so much in mind to tell you, but I am bounded by the very limits of time to put across the crux of the message I wish to deliver.

Delivering a speech such as this is a great responsibility; so I thought - deeply - until I cast my mind back to our own Seniors Night, several years back. Reflecting thereon has helped me enormously in preparing for this one, because it turns out that I cannot even remember who our guest speaker was – much more, a single word from him or her. And it eventually dawned upon me that what we had was not a Seniors’ Night, but a Graduation Ball. I learned that the former has taken the place of the latter. Nevertheless, this liberating discovery enables me now to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to abandon promising careers in business, the law or politics for the scatterbrained delights of staying up late at night – keeping yourselves busy with Facebook.

Amid the distressing plight of our Mother Earth unfolding before our very eyes – poverty, unemployment, underemployment, mismatch of jobs, social unrest, civil disorder, war, calamities, stories of greed and corruption, almost everywhere -- I am now tasked by my new Facebook friend to warm you up for the Global Challenge, but I am more inclined to do otherwise, that is, to cool you down. Because I know, you have been much warmed up – being fresh from the rigorous process of completing your academic requirements.

Thus, I can dispense with discussions on success, because before me are warm bodies representing success itself. Yes, as you soon would be confirmed graduates of a premiere university, you yourselves are the embodiment of success. Proud to be MSUans!

Looking back, however, to the time when you left the portals of your respective alma maters and had set foot in Mindanao State University, let me ask you, my friends, can you now say that you already have reached that goal you have set way back then, if any? Only you can provide the answer.

When I finished high school, I told myself – I shall become a lawyer. So, when I finished college, I knew, I haven’t reached my goal yet, as I still needed to go to a law school. This is where the setting of goal comes into play. Whether there is still something left for you to work on after earning your degree or there is a need for you to set new goals to achieve, and that is to include job-hunting.

As I always believe, for one to move forward, he must have an ultimate goal in life. Like fishermen out in the sea at night, your goal will serve as your North Star - your guide - wherever you may go, such that all your actions must be geared towards attaining that goal. So that when you’re lost or when things seem to be in disarray and confusing, you just have to look up to the sky, follow your North Star, and find your way back to the right path.

Perhaps, today, while some of you are filled with contentment, some are still at a quandary because, to this day, they have not yet identified the journey they should take. But then, it is never too late. In that respect, I urge you to find something that you are really passionate about as this shall give you a strong sense of purpose in life and it is always a big part of happiness. To do what you want to do. And in order to do that, you need to be honest with yourself.

A prominent person once said that “[t]he way to be happy is to like yourself. That is the real reason not to lie or cheat or turn away in fear. There is that old joke, not very funny though, which goes ‘no matter where you go, there you are.’ That’s true. The person who you are with most in life is yourself and if you do not like yourself, you are always with somebody you do not like.”

When I was about to finish high school, I told my parents that I would take up AB Political Science, preparatory to taking up Law. My father registered an objection at once, because it would take time, hence, to him, it was not practical; besides, we had no money to finance my enrolment in a law school. He wanted me instead to become a teacher like him and my mother. I realized that we were truly then economically challenged and I began to think that, maybe, I was dreaming too big. Besides, I started to think and doubt my capacity to hurdle the challenge of becoming a lawyer. I was then a guiltless and gullible lad, barely 17 years old, frail, clueless, who was totally foreign to that field. But I was very ambitious and relentless!

I insisted and ratiocinated that, while I had the highest regard to the teaching profession, I had to try something new, and becoming a lawyer was indeed something novel for a family like ours. The tide turned into my favor, and my father, though still mindful of our lowly station in life, but who had always been compassionate and understanding, threw his full support towards the achievement of my ambition. My family supported me in every step of the way.

My friends, as another prominent person had said, you have to find the courage to do things you are not ready to do. Doing something you are not ready to do is never comfortable. But in pushing through this discomfort, you will learn a lot more about yourself. You will learn you can do something you never thought or imagined you could do, or you will learn where your limits are. Either is valuable. It is important to push through that uneasiness because that is how you really grow and you really reach for your dreams. Do not be intimidated.

When I entered the university, all I knew was that I wanted to become a lawyer; scarcely did I know that I would be dwelling so much with history, one of the subjects that I liked the least and with which I felt I was barely prepared, as my memory was not serving me so well. I found myself struggling so hard to compete with my classmates in college, who generally had better background in world history; I had to toil - and to toil hard. Not even I would have guessed that eventually, I would land at the top, not only of the class, but of the entire university graduates, and would lead the Oath of Loyalty on our graduation.

When I took up Law, I had no idea what was in store for me. I was so clueless, even at the time when I took the entrance examination and appeared before a panel interview. My contemporaries were sons and daughters of influential people – politicians, government officials, judges, lawyers, doctors - or by themselves and in their own right were influential. But I told myself, “If God is with me, no one can stop me!” Who would have thought that on graduation, I would again land at the top of the class!

But to finish Law and to hurdle the Bar Examinations were two different things. The Bar Examinations truly was the hardest examination one would ever take. I was, however, much elated and grateful, learning that there were people who supported me and helped me, not only in knocking the heaven’s door, but in storming the heaven itself with prayers, at the time when I was taking the Bar Examinations.

Upon admission to the bar, I took the road less travelled by new lawyers. I joined a known law firm, went into active litigation, acting as private prosecutor at one time and as a defense counsel at another, and argued against seasoned as well as shrewd lawyers, and pleaded before the majesty of the court.

Then came the time that another challenge confronted me, totally new for me; that was, to join the government service as the Chief Legal Counsel of the City of Koronadal. Whether I like it or not, accepting the offer would entail an immersion into the world of real politics, which used to be a “no-no” for me. But again, there lies the challenge, and the opportunity to grow and to enrich my knowledge and experience, and eventually, to expand my horizon. I discovered that running a city is just like running a little republic. As the City Legal Officer, I have been confronted by insurmountable legal concerns coming from different fronts -- peace and order, environment, taxation, human rights and social welfare, education, poverty alleviation, agriculture and food supply, infrastructure, transportation, procurement, human resource, legislation, so on and so forth.

The bottom line is that, in all these things that I have gone through, I was not ready at all; I did not know what was ahead, but along with the new challenge and experience, I learned, got myself prepared and looked forward with enthusiasm to further challenges in life.

So, this I would like to tell you, my dear soon-to-be Facebook friends: Never be afraid to take up new challenges in your life. After your graduation, you would be charting once again your future, you own destiny - another chapter of your life. The step that you would take from there, would further define who you would be. So, take that step that would make you the person you want to become. You alma mater can do great things, through you. So make those great things happen.

As Margaret Spellings, Former U.S. Secretary of Education, would put it, “it's easy to get caught up in life's routine. Take time to pause and make sure that you're living life and life isn't living you. Have a plan, but don't be afraid to improvise. Get off the beaten path. Explore the detours and back roads. But don't be in such a hurry to get where you're going that you miss some amazing scenery along the way.”

I was nervous when I started with all those endeavors — just as many of you are nervous about the careers you're about to begin. But just like Peggy Noonan, the pen behind the speeches for President Reagan, it is but normal to have that three-stage reaction whenever we are confronted with new things, new tasks, and new responsibilities. At first, we would hope that nobody figures out how stupid we are. After a while, we would realize, “Hey, I'm as smart as everyone else.” And later, we would realize that we are now the ones in charge!

That same three-stage reaction has found equal application to me no matter where I have worked. And like anyone else, it may be the defining recurrence of my life, too, and the same reaction that you will have no matter where you choose to ply your trade.

And so, MSU-GSC Maalab Senior Class of 2011, tonight, I've got some news for you, too: You are in now charge!

Understand that whatever else may fail you, whatever bad luck or failure may befall you, your personal integrity - your dignity - is always in your own hands and can never be taken from you. I am sure pretty well that your Alma Mater has equipped you with the necessary weapons to face the different adversities in life and has instilled in you the moral foundation necessary to combat the tests and temptations along the way.

No matter what you do in life, do not forget to find some way to give back. The impact of that choice will not only improve the lives of others, it will enlarge and enrich yours as well. I am talking about the broad concept of social responsibility.
Finally, be grateful for all the blessings you received from the Almighty and pray for His continued guidance and providence all the time - and I mean it, ALL THE TIME.

That is all I have to tell you. So, I urge you now to go and get started on all of the successes and failures and all of the other grand things that you want to do in your life. But remember this: When in the course of some competition, you come in dead last, do not forget to smile for the cameras -- And be sure along the way to become so proud of yourself, that you have done what you have wanted and that you have done it the best way you can; so you can come home and say to yourself and to us, with pride, "It was really great and brilliant."

Congratulations, in advance, MSU-GSC Batch 2011! Mabuhay kayong lahat!

Brief Reflection on the Recently Held National Convention of Lawyers

It was the first time that I attended the IBP National Convention of Lawyers. If asked what said event has remarkably achieved in as far as I am concerned, I could say that it has successfully brought back the burning passion in me as a member of the bar, more than the chance visits we paid to some spots in Subic.

The challenges that beset me in the profession have been enormous, such that, in every step of the way, I had to reckon with intricate circumstances and crossroads,offering from complex options to none. A lawyer, imperatively, has to rise above all of these challenges. Now, the resolve is there - rekindled - to confront all the challenges with adherence to the sworn obligation as an officer of the court and a priest of justice. It is hoped, therefore, that the Supreme Court, including all inferior courts, would provide the needed atmosphere to restore the declining public trust in our judicial system.