[1] Closing Remarks of Retired Chief Justice ARTEMIO V. PANGANIBAN during the Awards Ceremony of the Foundation for Liberty and Prosperity held on August 29, 2025 at the Manila Polo Club, Makati City
Good evening distinguished guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen. My closing remarks will be composed of two parts: The first will be my thanks for our esteemed friends and distinguished guests in attendance today. Since there are so many of them scattered all over this grand hall, let me concentrate on those seated on my table. The second part will be my report on the status of our dreamed futuristic, interactive, immersive, AI-powered and tech driven Museum for Liberty and Prosperity and the pro-poor, pro-private initiative, multi-billion-peso Fund for Liberty and Prosperity.
First, let me say, “Maraming salamat po, to our gracious, lovely, brilliant, exuberant, friendly and supportive but low-profile First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos, our very special guest. Her birthday fell on August 21 which we celebrated by our standing and singing “Happy Birthday” upon her arrival in this hall. Ladies and gentlemen, did you know that our First Lady is a super lawyer and beloved law professor? She headed a big law firm that she ethically dissolved upon the election of President Bongbong Marcos to avoid any suspicion of undue influence by her firm.
Occasionally however, she could be naughty and playful. During the reception held for her small circle of friends whom she invites to attend her First Friday Musicals at the Goldenberg Mansion in Malacanang on Aug. 1, 2025, she drew her face close to mine and whispered, “I know your secret! You just arrived from Germany. Look at your face; it’s so smooth and handsome (ehem). And I know why!” I whispered back, “Yes, I just arrived from Germany. And yes, I have a secret that you know.” She smiled and sheepishly retorted, “Though I did not arrive from Germany, I have a secret too.”
Ladies and gentlemen, do you want to know the secret of our beloved First Lady? (pause for the audience’s collective answer) Aha, you are all chismosos, you want marites. Well… I ain’t talking. Her secret remains a secret! Tikum po ang bibig ko. Her secret remains with me alone.
On the right of our First Lady is our guest speaker, Don Fernando Zobel de Ayala, easily the handsomest, kindest, richest and sexiest middle-aged gentleman in this room tonight. I noticed several pretty ladies ogling and sighing as he spoke at the rostrum. Some of them are Solicitor General Lelen Berberabe who is herself a much sought-after bachelorette, and who, I think should one day land in the Supreme Court; I believe she is a model of liberty and prosperity because she capably headed and reformed the Pag-ibig Fund, and later became dean of the best law school – in Diliman, Quezon City;then, there is Chaye Cabal Revilla, the beauty and brains multi-tasker boss of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation happily doubling as my one and only secret confidant; over at another table is Dr. Jikyeong Kang, the lovely President and Dean of the Asian Institute of Management, a never-been-married lady who loves her singlehood but may be invited for candle light dinners – for strictly business reasons; Justice Ivy Fajardo-Reyes, the young, talented and charming member of the Court of Tax Appeals. I was always of the impression that she had eyes only on me. Hindi pala!; then, there is Dr. Charo Santos Concio who from today on will probably forget her much publicized girlish crush on the hero of CLOY (Crash Landing on You) and replace the pictures, masks and souvenirs of Hyun Bin in her closet with those of Don Fernando’s; also smiling admiringly at our guest speaker is the beautiful heiress Judith Duavit Vasquez, smartly-attired in her black tailored suit; my fellow director at the GMA Network, she earned the brand “Godmother of the Philippine Internet” as the first Asian lady to be elected as an independent director of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names or ICANN. And there is the awesome dermatologist from Forbes Park, Dr. Moleen Del Rosario, eying at the clear, clean Castilian cheeks and nose of Don Fernando. Another admirer of our guest speaker, Consul General Fortune Ledesma whose attention was fixed at our guest speaker but, unfortunately, had to leave the hall to attend to a prior commitment. I also noticed my rather shy cousin Evelyn Camus Alcantara, a Binibining Pilipinas forever beauty queen and runner up in the Miss International Pageant held in Long Beach, California, ogling secretly at Don Fernando.
Well, beautiful ladies, I have bad news for you, Don Fernando is happily married to Catherine “Kit” Silverio-Zobel and is definitely unavailable. But aha, on his right is the young and brilliant Lucio Tan III, fondly called “Hun-Hun,” a Summa Cum Laude from the Stanford University, and dynamic President of PAL Holdings and the LT Group of Companies. He represents the Tan Yan Kee Foundation, our partner in our Law Scholarship Program. Ladies, awesome ladies, don’t you agree with me that Hun-Hun is as handsome, as kind, as wealthy, as techy and as gentle as Don Fernando – with one big difference, he is younger, single and available. Ah, the loudest ohs came from my left side of this hall where the young lady scholars, fellows and winners are seated. But dear ladies, you got to work fast if you want to catch him because too many young lovelies have put their eyes on him long before you have done today. In other words, the competition is tight with no clear winner yet.
Next to Hun-Hun is the debonair lawyer, baritone and man about town Mike Toledo, the Chaiman and President of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, carrying the rare title of “Honorable Official Escort of our First Lady.” Don’t be mistaken though. He is absolutely faithful to his wife, Connie, who is sitting nearby. Reminds me of a joke. On that fateful day, St. Peter asked all the men seeking entrance to the Eternal Kingdom to fall in two lines, one for the henpecked and another for the non-henpecked. The first line for the henpecked was very, very long while the one for the non-henpecked had only one on the line. Out of curiosity, St. Peter approached him and asked, “Sir, why are you lined up here and not with the rest on the henpecked line.” He bravely replied, “Because my dear wife directed me to line up here, sir.”
Seated on the right of Atty. Mike is the bright and friendly retired Senior Associate Justice Telly Bernabe, an esteemed member of our Board of Trustees and introducer of our guest speaker. On her right is another wealthy bachelor, Dr. Allen Roxas, Chairman and President of State Properties Corporation, who donated to FLP, a 2,750 square-meter commercial lot at the main square of the Alabang Global City at the rear of the Ayala Alabang Village.
Next on the right of Dr. Allen is MPIC boss Chaye who I already referred to earlier as my secret confidant.
On her right is Dr. Amando M. Tetangco Jr., the only two-term governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and now the revered chairman of the largest conglomerate in our country, the SM Investments Corporation with a market capitalization of over P1 trillion. He chairs our Board of Judges for our Esmel Fellowship Program and is the Vice Chairman of the FLP Board of Trustees.
Seated next to Gov. Say is SolGen Lelen Berberabe who I already introduced earlier ogling at Don Fernando.
On her right is Supreme Court Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez, chairperson of the Board of Judges of our dissertation writing contest. Justice Jholo is much younger than me. In fact, he is young enough to be my son. But we have a commonality, we were both mentored by the great lawyer, the late former Senate President Dr. Jovito R. Salonga, numero uno in the bar exam who finished his master’s in law at Harvard and his doctorate in law at Yale.
On Justice Jholo’s right and seated on my left is the charismatic incumbent Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo who has been a constant supporter of FLP as the patient chairperson of the Board of Judges of our Legal Scholarship Program for several years now. I advised him that before his term expires in November next year when he reaches the compulsory retirement age of 70, he would lead us in laying the cornerstone of the FLP Museum for Liberty and Prosperity.
Now, let me proceed to the second part of my talk.
Ladies and gentlemen, by this time, you are already aware of FLP’s three major education projects, the Scholarship Program for law students, the ESMEL Fellowship Grants for MBA students and the Dissertation Writing Contest. Apart from them, FLP also sponsors, in partnership with the Metrobank Foundation, the Professorial Chairs Project and, in partnership with Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong and Mr. Injap Sia, the Panganiban Education Assistance Program for poor students.
Moreover, it is planning to supplement its Law Scholarships with a new program to elevate the ethical standards of lawyers. To quote Ms Tessie Sy Coson, chairperson of BDO, the largest bank in our country, “It is not enough for lawyers to be talented, they must also be ethical and Godly.” Agreeing with her, our Board of Trustees formed a new Super Committee to design this new project – headed by SolGen Lelen Berberabe with the following members: SAJ Telly Bernabe, Ms Bernadine Siy, the first and only lady chairperson of the board of trustees of the Ateneo de Manila University, Atty Joel Emerson Gregorio and Atty Arvin Paolo Cortez with Gov. Say Tetangco as adviser.
Ladies and gentlemen, as Governor Tetangco reminded us in his thoughtful opening remarks, what we celebrate today is not only the excellence and achievement of our scholars, fellows, and winners. We also celebrate the spark of the potential within them — the promise that, in God’s time, they will shine even brighter for our country and for humanity.
Indeed, beyond honoring individuals, this occasion is about a shared vision, a common passion, and a collective mission. It is about the new opportunities that arise when we work hand in hand under the shelter of liberty, the blessings of prosperity, and the guidance of the rule of law.
Allow me to recall a simple truth from the Good Book: “To whom much is given, much is required.” Our scholars, fellows and winners have been given talents, opportunities, and responsibilities. And so, we hope that they, in turn, will give back to society with perseverance, integrity, and service.
Our programs may be carried out in the present, but their true purpose is to prepare for the future — by guiding and uplifting the people of today. That future belongs to you, our young leaders. In you, we place our hopes: that you will persevere in your endeavors, embody our philosophy of liberty and prosperity under the rule of law, and help build a humane society better than the one we have today.
At this point, let me share a glimpse of tomorrow – our two flagship projects that seek to transform philosophy into action, and ideals into institutions. Let me now present a short video that illustrates our vision. May it inspire you to see yourself in this noble journey — and discover how you, too, can take part in transforming our shared aspirations into lasting tomorrows.
7-MINUTE VIDEO PRESENTATION…
As the video has shown, the vision of a futuristic, immersive, interactive, AI-powered, and tech-driven Museum for Liberty and Prosperity is closely aligned with our other flagship project, the pro-poor, pro-private initiative, multi-billion-peso Fund for Liberty and Prosperity, which is dedicated to guiding and supporting our micro, small, and medium enterprises. Yet before these aspirations can take shape, they need a home — land on which they can stand. For this reason, I am profoundly grateful that doors have already been opened through the generosity and passion of the people and institutions you have just witnessed in our video. We remain deeply thankful to these partners who have expressed their commitment to journey with us and help turn these dreams into reality.
I would also like to acknowledge the presence of Architect Jun Palafox and his team, who have offered their time, talent, and excellence to craft beautiful and comprehensive preliminary design concepts for our museum.
Friends, this reminds me of a parable: a small seed planted in fertile soil may look ordinary today, but given time, care, and sunlight, it would grow into a great tree whose shade will comfort many and whose roots will hold the ground firm. This museum, like that seed, may start as a concept — but with your help, it will grow into an institution that safeguards liberty, nurtures prosperity, and anchors the rule of law for generations yet unborn.
It is my hope, my fervent hope, that one day within my lifetime, we will gather again — not in this same venue, but at the new Museum for Liberty and Prosperity. And when that day comes, we will look back at this moment — how it all began, how we collectively worked hard, and how we turned our shared vision into reality.
That vision is not for us alone. It is for the future. It is for the next generation. It is, ultimately, for God and country.
And so, to formally close this program, may I now invite the FLP Choir to offer a song of inspiration and triumph as we celebrate this day of promise, progress, and prosperity. Maraming salamat po at mabuhay po tayong lahat!
…choir sings TAGUMPAY NATING LAHAT arranged by Eudenice Palaruan
…the song ends in soaring high notes and a powerful, resonant sound.
The Personal Website of Retired Chief Justice Panganiban 