Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen rallied the country’s 2024 graduates to make “democracy more meaningful” by doing something that “is different but right and just.”
“It is time that we seek others and truly and authentically communicate with them. It is time that we find the courage to do things differently. It is time that we start to truly work collectively,” Justice Leonen told the graduates.
Leonen was the guest speaker during the 46th Commencement Exercises of the University of the Philippines (UP) Tacloban College in Tacloban City last July 16.
In his speech, Leonen rallied the graduates to continuously struggle against today’s “political economy of ignorance” by “educating and informing ourselves, and engaging our realities critically and with empathy.”
“Democracy is a meaningless word unless we realize that we must take responsibility in making it more meaningful,” he said.
Leonen warned: “If we let our democracy stay as empty inspirational musings, we allow those who will take advantage of the status quo, ultimately dooming democracy to fail.”
He then urged the graduates to do their part by seeking authentic and meaningful conversations, while maintaining a critical eye on the “dominant and powerful narratives that have consequences on the lives of others.”
At the same time, Justice Leonen reminded the graduates: “Remember this mantra: Enough is good. Having enough is good. This is the value that will make you immune to greed and to more power. This is the value that will make you understand that there is more to this life -- to this world -- than your individual gain.”
The SC’s Public Information Office (SC-PIO) said that during the event, Justice Leonen was joined by UP Board of Regents and officials from the UP System, including UP President Angelo A. Jimenez. UP Tacloban College Dean Patricia Arinto, and faculty members and officials of the university.
The SC-PIO said that after the event, Justice Leonen visited the courthouses of the regional trial court (RTC) of Tacloban City and held dialogue with the judges from Tacloban’s RTC, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Trial Courts in Cities.
It also said that Leonen shared the developments in the SC’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027, including the launch of the Office of the Regional Court Manager (ORCM), a field office in every region that would unburden trial court judges of administrative work to concentrate in resolving cases filed before their courts.