At 10:30 am, the Vice President went to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Central Luzon Regional Convention and Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE)in Mabalacat, Pampanga. The IBP Central Luzon is composed of seven IBP Chapters: Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Tarlac, and Zambales. The theme for the convention was “IBPCL- Keeping Up with the Challenges of Change”. This bi-annual event is a gathering of lawyers from its seven chapters who will listen to MCLE lectures by experts in different fields of law. In this event, the Vice President awarded the Gawad Dangal ng Gitnang Luzonto a deserving lawyer from each of the chapters in the region since 2014.
In her message, the Vice President emphasized that the essence of being a lawyer is to consistently stand by the side of truth and fight for what is right. “ I seriously believe that as lawyers, it is critical that we must take up the fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. As lawyers, we must be unafraid to speak truth and embrace the courage to fight for causes that others are unwilling to take. When it comes to justice, words are cheap. But when we stop turning a blind eye to common injustices and do something about them with the many skills at our disposal, then finally, we would have done our job as practitioners of law.”
At 3:45 pm, the Vice President had a meet and greet with the Tagkawayan, Quezon Local Government Unit in the Quezon City Reception House.