Castro stressed that an honoris causa is an honorary degree recognizing a person’s contributions to society and is not equivalent to an academic degree earned through traditional study.
“At hindi ito nakukuha sa pamamagitan ng tradisyonal na pag-aaral, pagpasok sa law school, o pagpasa sa bar examinations,” she said.
Castro cited several actions taken by Marcos during his presidency to defend PLM’s decision to confer the honorary degree.
Among them were the removal of a floating barrier installed by the China Coast Guard at Scarborough Shoal in 2023, government efforts to address corruption, measures to secure the country’s oil and fertilizer supplies and assistance extended to Filipinos facing legal problems abroad.
“The President was able to do this because of his good relations with the leaders of Qatar and Russia. Ilan lamang ’yan sa nakikita ng iba na ginawa ng Pangulo, na pilit namang ipinipikit ng iba ang kanilang mga mata,” Castro said.
Kabataan Partylist Rep. Renee Co was among those who criticized PLM for conferring the honorary degree on Marcos, saying “there is no honor in widespread corruption and criminal negligence.”
Co also argued that granting the recognition to Marcos sent the wrong message to law students preparing for the Bar examinations.
“This is an insult to the hundreds of lawyers, the abogado ng bayan, who studied day in and day out to refine their knowledge of the law and ensure that said knowledge serves the most vulnerable—malaking kabaliktaran kay Marcos Jr. Insulto rin ito sa mga makabayang mag-aaral ng Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila na pinatay sa ilalim ng diktadura ng ama niya at ng sarili niyang rehimen,” Co said.
Castro fired back, accusing Co of refusing to acknowledge anything positive accomplished by the administration.
“One of those we saw criticizing was Congressman Co, who has not seen anything good done by the President. That is probably their goal, to always be negative about the administration. But this criticism of the PLM's actions in granting Honoris Causa to the country's highest leader is just Congressman Co showing his weakness,” Castro said.
Castro also rejected comparisons between Marcos’ honorary degree and degrees earned by lawyers through formal legal education.
“Definitely, she has not saved a life from a certain death penalty. She is a lawyer, highly educated, but it is wrong to compare this honor to lawyers who are fully educated in law. Because an honoris causa is not a diploma of completing a course. And not all lawyers who are congressmen or congresswomen can be said to be honorable or have sense in their words,” Castro said in Filipino.
She further accused Co of arrogance and making baseless accusations against the President.
“As far as I know, law schools do not teach people to be arrogant and not to belittle people because we lawyers know that slandering others and baseless accusations are not the work of a sane and competent lawyer,” Castro said.
