SC Justice Dimaampao Addresses 156 New Shari’ah Practitioners
August 24, 2022
SC Associate Justice Japar B. Dimaampao addressed the 156 passers of the 2022 Special Shari’ah Bar Examinations as they took their oath before the Supreme Court En Banc on Tuesday, August 23, 2022, at the Session Hall of the Supreme Court of the Philippines in Manila.
Justice Dimaampao lauded the new counselors, underscoring that their having passed the Examinations held earlier this year in March speaks volumes, not only about their grasp of the fundamentals of Shari’ah, “but also tellingly demonstrate your patience, perseverance, and humility. These qualities will certainly be your guiding beacons as you embark on your own professional endeavors and take on cases before Shari’ah courts.”
He also noted that it is an opportune time to join the country’s growing roster of Shari’ah practitioners, adding that “with the imprimatur of the Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo, and the support of my esteemed colleagues, the Supreme Court has commenced a slate of programs that aim, among others, to enhance the Shari’ah legal system and to enrich Islamic jurisprudence, including the revision of special rules of procedures in the Shari’ah courts. [As well as the] formal integration of the Shari’ah Bar of the Philippines, and the holding of the First National Shari’ah Summit earlier next year.”
He added: “With such colossal undertaking, we fervently hope that we can count on each and every one of you to help us realize the paramount vision which calls for accessible and equitable justice for the Muslim Filipinos.”
In closing, Justice Dimaampao reminded the Shari’ah Bar passers that “inevitably, you must imbibe the universal precepts of understanding, unity, harmony, tolerance, and peace. Lest you forget, you are not merely law practitioners before Shari’ah courts. You are also propagators in raising public awareness about Shari’ah and its pivotal role in the national legal framework.”
Justice Dimaampao is a Professorial Lecturer II at the Department of Shari’ah and Islamic Jurisprudence of the Supreme Court’s Philippine Judicial Academy. He was also the Chairperson of the 2020 Shari’ah Bar Examinations.
One hundred fifty-six out of 532 examinees, or 29.66%, passed this year’s Special Shari’ah Bar Examinations, which was headed by Dean Macrina A. Morados of the University of the Philippines Institute of Islamic Studies as Chairperson.