April 30, 2019 — “Remember always who we are, remember always whose we are; find ways to help; be a counterculture; and be good people” were the specific urgings of Atty. Theodore Te to the graduates during his keynote speech at the 110th commencement rites of UP Manila held on June 26 at the Philippine International Convention Plenary Hall.

Saying that we are in a state of war not of our own making but of which we are being called to wage, the former Supreme Court (SC) spokesperson and litigation laywer pounded on the graduates to be accountable to the Filipinos owing to their subsidized education and to “always, always, always put the people first.” He spoke of how the graduates can make their degrees meaningful by having the curiosity and courage to ask questions and the passion and determination to find answers. 

“The challenge to you, Class of 2019, is to continue asking and acting, confronting and challenging, being good and finding ways to help wherever you may find yourselves in,” Atty. Te told the 1,133 graduates representing different health and allied professions.

“We come from the people. That is our identity, our burden, our charge, our responsibility. And as soon as your titles and degrees are conferred, you join the long line of maroon and green who find themselves confronted daily with that consequences of that identity, burden, charge, and responsibility.” 

Find ways to help
The UP College of Law (UPCL) professor said there are many ways to help and cited UP Manila’s Return Service Agreement as a mechanism he wished the UPCL has so they can render free legal services before being allowed to take the bar examination. He implored the graduates to not treat it as obligation or burden, or even as just a way to give back.

“In a time when the value of life is cheaper than the cost of the bullet it takes to snuff it out, we need all the help we can get. Look at it as your way of loving our country, our people. And our country is direly in need of love and one can never have too much love.”

He called on the graduates to learn to work together and rely on the expertise of the other professions as “we cannot continue to work in siloes, each doing their own thing.” He shared his experiences as  a lawyer working with doctor experts from UP Manila, such as with forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun when they worked together on a case that brought them to the Senate and which led to the subject “Law and Science” for third year law students.  

He also recalled that many years ago, doctors from UPCM-PGH helped save a deaf mute and mentally challenged man from death row. He was examined by the UP experts who confirmed what the lawyers had known all along that he was deaf and mute with a mental age of 9 years old. The experts were Dr. Ma. Luz S. Casimiro-Querubin, Ms. Meredith Castro, Dr. Grace Orteza, and now UPCM Dean Charlotte Chiong.

“When lives are taken and the truth about the taking is itself hijacked, law finds itself at a great difficulty because law operates on facts that can be proven and without the use of science to find those facts, law becomes irrelevant. That is why in combatting impunity arising from unaddressed extra-judicial killings, law must partner with science to enhance its capacity to find the truth,” Atty. Te pointed out.

Atty. Te is a criminal defense lawyer, taking on cases for those that society considers the lost, last, and least. A member of the Free Legal Assistance Group, he has been deeply engaged in providing pro bono legal assistance and advocating for human rights. After resigning at the SC, he returned to teaching law at the UP, Ateneo de Manila University, Dela Salle University, and Philippine Judicial Academy. 

Be a counterculture
He maintained that at UP, students are taught to not merely be experts in their chosen fields but to also be principled and passionate advocates for genuine and meaningful change; to not only be solid scientists but to also be critical thinkers; to not just be steeped in the language of the human body and the human condition but to also be fluent in the language of human rights, economics, development, philosophy, history, arts, and culture.

Atty. Te urged the country’s future doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, rehabilitation and public health professionals, and social and physical scientists “to not just tend to the ills of our patients but also to address the ills of society; to speak out for those who cannot speak and to empower those who find themselves powerless.” 

“We are trained to lead in every field we find ourselves. That is the identity, mandate, and mission of every UP graduate. In doing so, we are called to be a counterculture: to stand for principle even when everyone else is taking the path of least resistance.” 

He called on the graduates to not take the path of least resistance in the face of the war against truth, justice, and human rights. “Do that through our scholarly research; through the use of science to find the truth; through multi-disciplinary engagements that allow us to see beyond where we find ourselves now.”

Be good people
“More than just allowing mastery of our respective fields, we must strive to inculcate not only knowledge but also to develop character–the conviction of what is good, right and just; to be able to do the right thing; and to resist compromising one’s ideals and values. This requires courage, perseverance, and fortitude; it also requires the strength to persist through challenges and struggles, and to choose what is right even when it is difficult, even when you stand alone and everyone else is against you. To be able to do the right thing in the face of opposition requires courage, strength of character, and integrity,” he added. 

He ended his speech by quoting a lawyer’s advice to his son after listing society’s ills to be “a great lawyer because never have our people had greater need than today for great lawyers and for young men and women determined to be great lawyers.”

“In the face of all that is going on in our world, be good people.  We do not need to become the monsters we seek to defeat. And, on top of all these, always, always, always put the people first.”

Lone summa cum laude
Lone summa cum laude graduate Georgina B. Gato (BA Political Science) responded on behalf of the graduates of which 33 are magna cum laudes and 171 are cum laudes. “Let us use our knowledge to serve the people and our passion to serve them well.” 

Cynthia Villamor | Published in UP Manila Healthscape May – June 2019