HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! May 2021 be a better year for us all.
I would like to share with you all Justice Cruz' message to the 1994 Bar passers. Reading Justice Cruz' decisions are such a joy to read. He has such a distinct and poetic writing style (Javier v. COMELEC was such a masterpiece). I hope his message inspire us all to be better law students and hopefully better lawyers in the future.
This is taken from Atty. Carlo Cruz' FB page btw :-)
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MEMO FOR THE FUTURE
(Delivered by Justice Isagani A. Cruz at the oath-taking of the new members of the Philippine Bar, at the Philippine Convention Center, on March 12, 1994.)
My New Colleagues:
On behalf of the Supreme Court, I welcome you to the Philippine Bar. You have been tested and found not wanting. The portals now swing open for you to the noble profession of the law.
I have only this brief message.
First, hold fast to your ideals. Do this even as you grow older for idealism is not co-terminous with youth. You are not justified in yielding to cynicism or the temptations of the easy life once you are no longer young. Age is not an excuse for abandoning innocence.
There is nothing like the spirit of combat and confidence to blunt the cutting edge of life. You will find that this feeling will wane with the passing years as the chinks in the armor are revealed and the Achilles heel is exposed to the crises you will meet. Let not these dangers daunt you or weaken your resolve. For they can be overcome.
Your Camelot must remain inviolate, without the corrosions of greed or lust. It is here that you must seek and find the Truth. The years must not distort your image of perfection or detour you from your pursuit of excellence. Never be satisfied with second best. Substantial compliance with the standard of the absolute is not enough. You must prove your worth not by a preponderance of evidence but beyond the whisper of a doubt.
Second, always strive for justice. Do this for it is the mission of your lives. Do justice to your neighbor when you encroach upon his rights though you know more law than he. Do justice to the impoverished who cannot enjoy the beauty of the sunset because they have to look for the oil to light the lamp when the darkness closes in. Do justice to the activist whose liberties are mocked because he speaks in discordant tones that jangle a hostile creed. Do justice to those who do not speak at all and endure in silence when their freedom is affronted.
Justice is for every one. It is not only for those in the seats of power but also for those without privilege or fame. The nameless person in the motley crowd is as sovereign as the highest officials of the land and his rights deserve as much respect as those of the rich and influential. Justice to the common man or woman is what democracy is all about.
Finally, have faith and keep it strong. Have faith in an Almighty Being who sees everything from the quiet blossoming of the bud to the thundering fall of empires, without whose will not even a leaf may rustle nor may a soul be lost. He will help you. Have faith in the essential goodness of every person, in his willingness to reach out to a fellow human being and heed his cry for help. Have faith in the spirit of liberty which exalts the individual and joyously celebrates him as the core of the free society and the highest handiwork of God. Have faith especially in yourselves, in your capacity to do great deeds or simple acts of beauty, be it the rescue of an enslaved nation or the singing of a perfect song.
And you can do it. And why not?
The coming years shine for you like a rich enticement. The limitless horizons beckon with their impossible promises and preposterous dreams. Your very youth invites you to adventures fraught with recklessness and laden with thrilling and unbelievable discoveries. With all your gifts, you have no reason for not achieving. You cannot fail as long as your will is firm and your heart is bold and your motive is as pure as the dew at dawn.
My young friends: Do not forfeit your exciting future by default. Let it be said of all of you that you dared to reach your goal, and dared again, and again and again and again, and never wavered until you won. You deserve no less than that.
Cling to your vision of the worthy life. You may find, to your delight, that it was no vision after all.
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