The Historical Juris Doctor Conferment of Mindanao State University College of Law

The Historical Juris Doctor Conferment

Alexander Diamla Dumpa

The Mindanao State University College of Law was the first in the country to confer the Juris Doctor degrees to its graduates following LEB Resolution No. 2019-406. And for this conferment, a very symbolic sablay was specially made.

The Legal Education Board (LEB), created by virtue of Republic Act (RA) 7662 otherwise known as the Legal Education Reform Act of 1993, unanimously approved and adopted on the 9^th of January 2019 the aforementioned issuance. Said issuance required all law schools in the country to shift their programs from Bachelor of Laws (LLB) to Juris Doctor (JD). It further resolved that the basic law degrees (whether LLB or JD) earned from law schools recognized or supervised by the LEB and its predecessor regulatory agencies shall be considered as equivalent to doctoral degrees in other non-law academic disciplines for purposes of appointment/employment, ranking and compensation.

The historic Juris Doctor Conferment Ceremony took place on the 6^th of March 2019, with the theme, “MSU Amidst Challenges: Producing Human Resource and Future Leaders in the Legal Profession”, which also coincided with the 38^th Foundation of the College of Law. Indeed, it was a day of total celebration. A day in recognition of the labor, excellence, and commitment of the MSU Law graduates in helping in making the law a pillar of an orderly and more just civil society. A time for celebrating success. And a time for renewing acquaintances and reminiscing the good old days.

With the company of 5 associate justices from the Court of Appeals Mindanao Station, the ceremony was graced by Justice Oscar V. Badelles, an associate justice of the Court of Appeals, as the guest of honor. During his speech, he emphasized how very relevant and timely is the vision of MSU College of Law in producing great lawyers. According to him, the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law creating the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Marawi Siege, and other challenges that befall our community, usher in a new era full of challenges and great possibilities for the MSU Law graduates to be catalysts of changes in the society.

For the conferment ceremony, a total of 2,040 alumni applied. Out of which, 1,459 alumni were in attendance and 581 alumni were in absentia. A special sablay was also used – the customized sablay with the Juris Doctor, langkit, and the MSU logo printed on it. It also donned the MSU school colors, and with three black strips to signify the doctoral degree equivalency of the Juris Doctor degree. According to Dean Atty. Alizedney M. Ditucalan, LLM, the JD sashes were even more memorable because they were made by the internally displaced persons (IDPs) of Marawi City, and thus this no less symbolizes resilience.

(This article has been published in the MSU Law Gazette, Vol. 3, No. 2, A.Y. 2018-2019).