(Delivered during the conferment program on 10 December 2020, University of the Philippines, College of Law)
I was asked to add a note of levity to this occasion.
Much has been said about the excellence that characterises the work of Retired Senior Associate Justice, now Dr. Antonio Carpio. But to those who were unfortunate enough to work with him, that excellence can be very intimidating. So in a sense Tony Carpio is a bit of a tyrant - his excellence is a form of coercion. In my case I was forced to accomplish things I never even thought of doing - working in the office of the chief presidential legal counsel where Tony focused on a policy of levelling the playing field, staging a cartographic exhibit to win the hearts and minds of the Filipino people on the Scarborough and Spratley issues, collating his 150 power point lectures on the South China Sea into an ebook, authoring his retirement book on his constitutional law decisions, which meant going over more than 900 of his ponencias, since he did not have a backlog. And obviously the conferment of this honorary degree will only add to his arsenal of intimidation.
But by all means, Dr. Carpio, intimidate us, bully us into being better versions of ourselves if only to approximate the excellence of your work.
Congratulations, Tony!
