Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando has been conferred Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, by the San Beda College-Alabang.
In his message to SBC-Alabang graduates, Justice Hernando said they need not be magistrates nor do they need post-graduate degrees to make a difference.
“Wins can be big or small in scale. But they are achieved due to a conscious effort to win. You may have been graced with a slight stroke of luck, but there are no accidents in true success. You are here not because you have just been lucky. You worked for what you have right now, and you are worth it,” he said.
The SC’s public information office (PIO) said that Hernando, chairperson of the 2023 Bar examinations committee, also underscored “the importance of finding one’s own path or destiny.”
He recalled that “when I was applying for posts in the Judiciary, I was always considered so young and most of the time my relative youth was taken against me by the JBC” (Judicial and Bar Council).
“It was always disheartening, but I hung on to my dreams. I was always told that I was young, but I always made sure I was qualified for the job that I desired. That, they cannot take against me,” he said.”
He pointed out: “We have to keep in mind that our own reality can either be what we make it out to be, or what we allow it to be. Decide for yourself. Do not romanticize your broken dreams as unfortunate by-products of fate.... Find your direction. Your life is your own.”
The PIO said the conferment ceremony was witnessed by SC Associate Justices Mario V. Lopez, Samuel H. Gaerlan, Japar B. Dimaampao, amd Antonio T. Kho, Jr., retired Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta, Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA) Chancellor and retired Justice Rosmari D. Carandang, and several members of the Court of Appeals and of the Sandiganbayan.
Retired PHILJA Chancellor and Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolfo S. Azcuna also graced the event as presenter of diplomas to the graduates, it said.
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