UP Law at 100: Dean vows ‘more rigorous’ criticism of SC rulings

University of the Philippines College of Law dean Marvic Leonen vowed to give “more rigorous criticisms" of Supreme Court (SC) decisions as UP Law kicked off its centennial anniversary celebration on Tuesday. Leonen said that as the country’s “premiere law school," UP Law is expected to “rigorously" analyze rulings of the high court and make them know to the public. “We will be very rigorous in our criticism because we see that is our role. Wala nang iba e. Sino pa ba ang magbabasa ng mga desisyon at maglalabas ng mga critique sa publiko? (I don’t see any other role for us. Who else will read through the decisions and issue critiques for public consumption?)" he told reporters during the opening ceremonies of the UP College of Law’s Centennial Celebration on Tuesday. Leonen and 36 other members of the UP Law faculty faced threats of disciplinary action from the high court last year after they came up with a statement against a former SC justice being accused of plagiarism. (See: Supreme Court threatens to sanction law faculty critics) In a curious twist, Leonen himself became embroiled in a plagiarism issue for failing to supply two attributions in an article published in 2004. In the aftermath, the UP Law dean offered to resign from his post late last year, but the state university’s leading body has yet to decide on the matter as of posting time. (See: UP leaders defer action on Law dean's resignation offer) Leonen said that he and his fellow UP Law faculty members only became “stronger" after facing various controversies last year. “Yung threat ng discipline ay isang bagay (The threat of disciplinary action is one thing) that we took very, very seriously. On the other hand, the consensus within our faculty is, it [being rigorous critics] is what we should be," he said. He, however, expressed hopes that similar incidents would not happen again this year. “We are just hoping that our government, our system, our society can be more tolerant to these kinds of criticisms. We may be wrong once in a while, but at the very least, we are able to exercise rigorous academic analysis of the various decisions coming out of this particular court," he said. Centennial plans During the opening of the UP Law centennial celebration, Leonen also bared plans for the college’s 100th founding anniversary. Among these plans is the opening of a satellite campus in Taguig City, as well as the building of a dormitory exclusively for law students within the UP campus. Leonen said that the college will rely on the help of some of its alumni, as well as on a portion of its legal research fund, to carry out these projects. He added, however, that the main goal of the centennial celebration is to present the UP College of Law as “the school of choice" when it comes to the study of law in the country. “Our expectation is that the UP College of Law will remain what it is: the premiere law school and the school of choice," he said. The UP College of Law was established in January 11, 1911 through the efforts of American lawyer and former Philippine Supreme Court Associate Justice George Malcolm. Since then, the college has produced four of the country’s past presidents — Jose Laurel, Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino and Ferdinand Marcos.—JV, GMANews.TV