Around 2,500 lawyers from all over the Philippines will converge at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino on March 20-22 when the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) holds its 15th National Convention of Lawyers, according to IBP National President Vicente M. Joyas.
Convention delegates include the new officers of the IBP’s 85 chapters nationwide who were elected in synchronized elections in February.
This year’s convention theme is “A Renewal and Revival of National Relevance.”
The biennial event is an occasion for the 42-year-old national organization of lawyers to take stock of the legal profession since the last national convention held in Davao City in 2013.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama will welcome the delegates and guests on the opening day, March 20.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno will keynote the convention with her speech on judicial reforms. In her message to the IBP, Sereno commended the organization for making “significant strides in increasing the availability of legal services to the poor” but noted that the IBP can “do more, and better,” citing the commitment of the IBP to set up a public website that shall make its membership “more transparent.”
Meanwhile, in wishing the IBP an “insightful convention,” President Benigno S. Aquino III pointed to the gains of the government’s good governance initiatives “in transforming the Philippines into a dynamic marketplace and a model of reform.”
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Vice President Jejomar Binay will talk on “the Philippine Bar after 2016.”
In his convention message, Binay declared that it is “faith and hope in the law” that can “build not simply an outstanding society of lawyers but above all, a great Filipino society.”
At the conclusion of his two-year term as IBP President and Chairman of the Board of Governors, lawyer Joyas has called on IBP leaders to do self-reflection on a set of questions “to determine if we have done what we are called upon to do.”
Joyas’s questions touch on the recurring issue of professional ethics. “Have we united the members in the call to respond to the challenges of the constantly evolving times and carry out their part as agents of truth and justice? Have we inspired them to maintain a high sense of morality, integrity and honesty?”
Joyas also wanted to ascertain how responsive the IBP has been to the needs of its members. “Have we exerted sufficient effort to discover, and then address, what the members and the organization need? Have we been an example for our members to emulate?”
Joyas exhorted his colleagues to ask themselves how they have fulfilled their role as catalysts of change. “Have we propelled our organization to participate in the discussion of timely issues and concerns of our country and our fellow countrymen? Did we provide the necessary vision that will inspire our members to be active in the organization and in the organization’s collective efforts to effect change?”
The convention includes lectures on various issues and concerns affecting the legal profession.
Members who have earned the units required for the 5th Compliance of MCLE (Mandatory Continuing Legal Education) will have the units earned in the Cebu convention credited to the 6th Compliance.
The convention will also see the release of two volumes of the IBP Journal.
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