Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. It is good to be back home with my "nurturing mother".
Our speaker today is a life peg for every season; a life peg for every stage of life.
If you were a student, as most of you are, he is a life peg because as a student, not only was he involved in extracurricular activities as editor of his school paper, he also graduated valedictorian of Class 1975 of the College of Law of the University of the Philippines.
If you were working in the private sector, as many of us do, he is a life peg because at the age of 30 he founded his own law firm, and managed it until it became one of the most influential law firms of the country.
If you were in the government sector, he is a life peg because, after his term as Chief Presidential Legal Counsel to then President Fidel V. Ramos, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit in 1998 for distinguished and exemplary service to the Republic.
If you were a lawyer, as some of us are, he is a life peg because not only is he the Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, his written opinions are singular examples of scholarship and integrity.
And if you were a Filipino, as we all are, he is a life peg because he has shown us how to pursue a personal advocacy, not "full of sound and fury signifying nothing," but with substance and equanimity, resulting in one of the most important victories for our country in international law. Because of this, his alma mater, the University of the Philippines, named him its most distinguished alumnus for 2017.
So if you are searching for a life peg then look no further as he is before you today.
Ladies and gentlemen, my once and future life peg, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Tirol Carpio.
