When folly is celebrated

Churchill Aguilar

I AM an alumnus of Xavier University College of Law. Although my law school was abruptly stopped following my transfer to Cebu, nevertheless I feel like I have somehow been part of the institution even if my stay only lasted for a year. In fact, a lot of my take on social issues have been shaped by what I learned during my short stint at XU Law.

Xavier University Law School was cited as an “Outstanding Law School” by the Legal Education Board of the Supreme Court of the Philippines four years ago. From 2001-2011, it was recognized as one of the 10 best-performing law schools in the Philippines. Its dean, Atty. Raul R. Villanueva, was also named as an outstanding law dean.

XU College of Law has always enjoyed the reputation of being the finest law school in Mindanao. That is why, there was a great buzz among people of the law and of the academe and even among the netizens upon learning that Manny Pacquiao was invited as their guest speaker during their 60th year anniversary–the very congressman who has the most number of absences in the regular sessions of the House of Representatives.

What message was the college trying to say? Mindanao’s history was forged by those who studied law and carried them out in their communities. Isn’t the invitation undermining the very foundation of their college? The 60 years symbolize the lengths of leadership that the institution played. It demarcates the years where reason and logic were upheld over and above nepotism, customs and traditions. It marks out the era where impunity was given no room in a democratic community. And what an irony it is for such milestone to be celebrated by inviting no more than someone who hardly graduated from high school to be its guest speaker.

This is not an issue on discrimination. Please don’t get me wrong. Rather, it is an issue on advocacy. You simply can’t promote the most expensive wine in the market by putting it in a paper cup. Making Pacquiao as the guest speaker on an assembly of lawyers and law students is way far from putting premium on post graduate studies. It is even giving the congressman the false idea that so long as you are successful in your field (in his case boxing), even if you represent everything that the institution is not you can still be put in a pedestal inside their arena, especially if you donate a hefty sum of money for their library as token of appreciation for such honor.

The main reason why we are poor is because we are not an educated population. And the ones that bring us down to the gutter are leaders and lawmakers who do not have the slightest idea what their roles are in shaping our future nor the skills in forging inclusive development but are the ones given the power to decide for us. Its instances like this when folly is celebrated and stupidity sugar-coated that sickens me to the stomach.

I know and experience firsthand the tremendous power of quality education. It has delivered me from the bondage of poverty. So I take it as a personal mission to make that message clear.

In fairness, Pacquiao’s message (probably drafted by a lawyer) during the gathering was more or less like what I am trying to advocate–put people back to school. Yet still, if he truly loves our country and us, Filipinos, then he should just leave the Senate to those who have the education and training for law making, such as the graduates of XU College of Law.