IBP Davao: Ex-President Duterte is a lawyer in ‘good standing’
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 8 Oct) — The Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Davao City chapter (IBP-Davao) clarified on Wednesday that the Golden Pillar of Law Award is bestowed upon lawyers in good standing who have rendered 50 years or more in the practice of law and that its conferment on former President Rodrigo R. Duterte does not constitute an endorsement of his political actions or personal ideologies.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the IBP-Davao said that the former president, like any lawyer who has been a “member in good standing,” is automatically eligible to receive the recognition based on the guidelines provided by the national office of the IBP.
“Based on these established and objective qualifications, former President Rodrigo R. Duterte fully meets each criterion, in the same manner as all other awardees across the nation who were likewise conferred the same honor,” it said.
Citing Article Il, Section 20 of the Revised IBP By-Laws, it said that a member in good standing is one “who has paid all membership dues and all authorized special assessments made by the national office of the Integrated Bar and the Chapter to which the member belongs, plus surcharges owing thereon, and who is not under suspension from the practice of law or from membership privileges.”
Aside from Duterte, there were 26 other lawyers from “private practice, public service, the judiciary, or academe” who were given similar recognition during the IBP Golden Pillar awarding ceremony at the Hall of Justice covered court here on Monday.
According to the organization, the national award, which was implemented pursuant to the memorandum issued by IBP national president Allan G. Panolong on August 20, 2025, is a “recognition of professional longevity and standing under the IBP’s By-Laws, applied without distinction, and grounded on verifiable compliance with the rules governing the legal profession.”
It stated that each awardee must not have been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude, nor subjected to any final disciplinary action by the IBP or the Supreme Court.
Addressing criticisms from fellow lawyers, the IBP-Davao reminded them that “as lawyers, we are duty-bound to rise above biases and to uphold this fundamental precept of our justice system, that judgment must rest on evidence and final conviction, not mere perception, and every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.”
In a statement, Dr. Jean Lindo, chair of Gabriela Southern Mindanao, questioned the recognition given to the former president as well as the timing of conferring it.
She said the award should have been bestowed when Duterte was still mayor of Davao and actively pursuing peace, noting that he had demonstrated that “non-militarism did work” back then.
She said, however, Duterte took a “different path” after he became President in 2016, as he targeted the “poor and the powerless with his drug war” and declared martial law in Mindanao.
On May 23, 2017, Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao through Proclamation No. 216, following the siege of Marawi City by ISIS-inspired militants. The declaration remained in effect until December 31, 2019.
“An award at this point? I cannot place him in the same category as the late Nelson Mandela or (Julian Paul) Assange… It also reflects maybe of the core values of IBP Davao nowadays,” she said.
Mandela was a lawyer and anti-apartheid activist who became the first black head of state of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, while Assange is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
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