THE INTEGRATED Bar of the Philippines (IBP)-Davao City Chapter has issued an official statement defending its decision to confer the Golden Pillar of Law Award upon former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, emphasizing that the recognition is based purely on objective professional qualifications and is not a political endorsement.
The statement was released to address public discussions surrounding Duterte’s receipt of the award during the 2025 Law Month celebration.
Criteria: Longevity and good standing
The IBP-Davao Chapter clarified that the Golden Pillar of Law Award is a national recognition conferred across all IBP chapters to lawyers who have rendered fifty (50) years or more in the practice of law.
The award honors IBP members in good standing for distinguished service in private practice, public service, the judiciary, or academe.
The IBP-Davao Chapter alone recognized twenty-seven (27) awardees.
Under the national guidelines, a lawyer is automatically eligible if they meet established criteria, including:
Completing at least fifty (50) years in the practice of law since admission to the Philippine Bar.
Being a member in good standing (paid dues, not under suspension).
Not having been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude, nor subjected to any final disciplinary action by the IBP or the Supreme Court.
The IBP-Davao Chapter asserted that based on these “established and objective qualifications,” former President Duterte “fully meets each criterion, in the same manner as all other awardees across the nation.”
Upholding presumption of innocence
The chapter directly addressed the criticism by reminding the legal community of its ethical duty to maintain professional objectivity.
“While the Chapter recognizes that certain members of the legal community have expressed their personal sentiments against the conferment of the award, we must also be reminded 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 perceptions, and every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty,” the statement read.
The IBP concluded that the Golden Pillar of Law Award “does not serve as an endorsement of political acts or personal ideologies.”
Instead, it 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.”
