As in any sojourn, the route, direction, and destination are known. We take the first step towards the consolidation of our organization, the refocusing on our collective purpose, and the enhancement of our shared resolve to support the further strengthening of the system, structures and programs of justice in this, our beloved country.

It was a journey momentarily stalled by the internal issues we had to face and resolve. We went through difficult and challenging times. The issue put to test the very tensile strength of the organization and our capacity and ability to deal with the threats spawned by conflict. Yet, the momentary interruption of our journey urged us to look deeper inward. And in so doing, we rediscovered the vast reservoir of inner resolve and commitment to the mission among our members.

We take the first step today. And the first step could only be the expression of our gratitude to the Honorable Supreme Court.

On behalf of the entire membership of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, please accept our heartfelt thanks for the guidance and wisdom you lent to us during the trying times just passed. Thank you for bringing the most crucial issues to a final resolution; for helping us to move on and pursue our mission.

We finally close this difficult chapter in our organizational history. However, we shall always remember that the closure has been made possible only with the firm, yet wise, decision just handed down by this Honorable Court.

The chapter we just closed with your guidance, help and support are filled with lessons, albeit hard and exacting. The inevitable pain, we realize, is part and parcel of continuing growth. We must now translate the hard lessons into wisdom and allow the learning to guide us as we move on into the next chapter of our journey.

Your Honors, the IBP is ready to resume this, our journey. We are set to take the route, follow our direction and re-clarify the destination. Such are the only elements within our control. There are perils that line our path and which are beyond the realm of the certain. But we are ready to face them, knowing that the guidance and wisdom of this Honorable Court remain a faithful beacon in any tumult that our journey shall face in the future.

We can only reciprocate for the graciousness of the Honorable Supreme Court through our fidelity to this journey. Thus, we take our first step.

Our next step is to offer our hand to this Honorable Court and the rest of the legal community – the hand of invitation to be fellow travelers in this journey.

Our hope is that we can help stoke the embers of renewed solidarity within the legal community as we help this, our beloved Nation, break the shackles of poverty and to re-take the path towards genuine social and economic development. We walk alongside this Honorable Court as it strengthens its own role in our country’s bid for prosperity and progress anchored on the principle that "the integrity, stability and predictability in judicial decisions are vital to the creation of a positive economic environment."

But economic poverty is only one of the myriad of nemeses who shall lay in ambush along our journey’s path. We recognize that an equal, or perhaps greater evil, is moral poverty spurred by the apparent demise of the high regard for ethics among the various sectors of our society, the legal profession included.

Our onward journey shall, therefore, be guided by two important anchors: Excellence and ethics.

It is our prayer that the collective leadership and example of the Board of Governors of the IBP may serve as inspiration for the rekindling of our shared passion and commitment to the highest standards of professional and personal excellence, as well as to the parameters and dimensions of the ethical practice of our service and vocation.

In closing, I thank, on behalf of the membership of the IBP, one who has been a sterling example of the living out of the values of excellence and ethics. In applying the principles and tenets of leadership during one of IBP’s most challenging chapters in its history, President Jose Anselmo Cadiz showed his colleagues the true meaning of these values. In the face of animosity, he displayed understanding and civility. Amid temptations to mediocrity, he held on to what was best and laudable. In the midst of conflict and threats of division, he showed us a sterling example of graciousness.

Our onward journey is, therefore, not bereft of the finest of inspirations. As fitting tribute to the outgoing IBP president, I reiterate – on behalf of our Board of Governors and our members – our continuing commitment to the work begun by the organization during the term of President Cadiz, particularly his unstinting support for the judicial reform program.

Your Honors, ladies and gentlemen: The journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step. Oftentimes it is the first step that is most difficult. But we take that step today unmindful of the past, undaunted by the future and confident in our shared strengths and in the wisdom of the Guiding Hand that never, never failed us.

Thank you and good day.