The University of the Philippines College of Law batch of 1998 is holding this year’s Malcolm Cup at the Philippine Navy Golf Club in the City Of Taguig on November 9, 2023.
The golf tournament is in honor of George A. Malcolm, an American lawyer who was appointed Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court in 1917.
UP Law graduates of 1998 are celebrating their silver jubilee this year. They are represented by lawyer Franchette Acosta, class valedictorian and president.
Net proceeds of the tournament are intended to finance projects like the purchase of tables and chairs for the newly minted Iloil Campus of the UP College of Law, and outreach programs for AJ Kalinga Foundation and the Zambales Fisherfolk Association.
This year’s Malcolm Cup attempts to revive a golfing tradition that was halted by the covid 19 pandemic, according to Atty. Ade Fajardo, this year’s Chairperson of the tournament. Alumni of the college, businessmen, and other professionals are expected to participate in the 18-hole event.
Backing the golf tournament are the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Solis Medina Fajardo & Malilong, Converge, Harbour Center Port Terminal, Inc., Gefura, Bryant G. Casiw of BGC Law Office, Cocogen Insurance, Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia, Pedro Farms, ACCRA Law, Petron, Tanduay, Valena Law Office, Sen. Sonny Angara, Fundador, Full Speed Chartering Services, former IBP Southern Luzon Governor Atty Jerwin Lopez, and Panay News.
UP Law class of 1998 will host this year’s alumni homecoming at the Dusit Hotel in Makati this November 17.
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George Malcolm’s Legacy
by Atty. John Molo
George A. Malcolm arrived with no promise of a job, no government subsidy, and no assets to his name. In the words of his wife, what he had With him were “a law diploma, three dollars and a mind swimming with stubborn dreams.”
Yet, by the time he left the Philippines for what would be the last time in 1961, he was sent off by a crowd that included presidents, Supreme Court justices, cabinet members, senators, governors, ambassadors and deans. This is Malcolm’s legacy.
Today, few remain to recall that the American government back then did not see the wisdom in teaching Filipinos English law. Malcolm had other ideas. He saw that independence was inevitable. And for the Philippines to be ready, it needed future leaders. Malcolm intended to train them. He first fought to have the College of Law established. Despite several rejections, he pushed ahead and got it done.
This is how Malcolm became a Dean at the age of 27, He then set about to recruit students with the greatest promise, prioritizing astuteness over social and economic status. These students would come to class tired from working late nights, driven by Malcolm’s promises of a bright future, only if they “dig into law booksâ.
Yulo, Roxas, Paras – names now etched in the nation’s firmament. They were all on the verge of quitting once. But Malcolm drove them to finish.
From that fateful day in 1961 when Justice Malcolm left, he breathed his last just a few days after arriving in the United States. In his farewell to his former students, he told them “and if forever, then forever, fare-thee-well”, perhaps knowing what fate had in Store for him.
For over a generation, Justice Malcolm guided and nurtured the nation’s leaders. With his teachings, his books and his powerful oratory, Justice Malcolm was that one great mentor to the Philippinesâ pantheon of legal luminaries.
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