MISAMIS ORIENTAL — Mindanao State University (MSU) honored 73 successful passers of the September 2025 Bar examinations during its Purplehood and New Lawyers Testimonial marking the highest number of new lawyers produced by the main campus since its College of Law was established.

The event, held at the Ranaw Business Hotel, also marked the first time a sitting Supreme Court justice attended the university’s testimonial.

Annabelle Cañazares-Mindalano, officer-in-charge and dean of the MSU College of Law, described the achievement as a testament to the institution’s commitment to legal education and public service.

She urged the new lawyers to maintain compassion, humility, and integrity, noting that the gathering was a reminder of the legal community’s duty to advance justice, peace and human dignity.

Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen delivered the keynote address, emphasizing that lawyers from MSU — an institution deeply rooted in the Bangsamoro and Mindanao region — have a unique mandate to serve marginalized communities.

“The lawyers produced by this institution are expected not only to succeed in practice, but also to understand what it means to stand beside communities that continue to struggle against poverty, exclusion, displacement, violence and historical neglect,” Leonen said.

“They are expected to recognize that the law cannot remain abstract when people are hungry, unheard, or invisible. This, after all, is the promise of social justice,” he added.

Leonen also outlined a comprehensive roadmap to strengthen the country’s Shari’a justice system, which he noted coexists within the national legal architecture alongside civil law, common law, and indigenous customary laws.

The Supreme Court is reviewing the Shari’a justice framework under its Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022–2027. Key reforms include expanding legal education, increasing institutional support for Shari’a courts, and fully integrating Shari’a practice into the mainstream legal profession.

Leonen cited that the high court has already assumed administration of the special Shari’a bar examination from the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos to prioritize the practice.

As part of these reform efforts, MSU’s main campus in Marawi City will host the first national convention of Shari’a counselors in September.