Professionalism

By Atty. Eduardo T. Reyes III

Although it has been reported that the Omicron variant of covid-19 had seen pockets of resurgence in some parts of Asia like in China and South Korea, fortunately for the Philippines, cases had been on a steady decline for the last two months. It is hoped that the virus would fizzle out for good and allow for the economy to be resuscitated.

With the sanguine outlook, students are trickling in inside the classrooms to resume face-to-face classes. Lawyers and their clients too are now getting their cases called for resumption of in-court proceedings as the Supreme Court had instructed that hearings via video-link can only be availed in a few instances.

The on-line classes entailed tricky issues that had to be dealt with during the height of the pandemic. But given that the reversion to the classroom setting where the students have to contend with personally interacting with their teachers is in the offing, re-adjusting back to the brick-and-mortar set-up has some challenges of its own.

In the recent case of University of the Cordilleras, Dr. Ricardo Pama, Dr. Cleofas M. Basaen, Dr. Miriam A. Janeo v. Benedicto F. Lacanaria, G.R. No. 223665. September 27, 2021 which came down on November 29, 2021, the dismissal of a college professor who was proven to have a penchant for dishing out “green jokes” to his students and had shown a lack of professionalism and decency, was upheld.

This may be a single case but is perhaps symptomatic of a graver illness that afflicts society nowadays: the lack of professionalism.

In the earlier case of Manalo v. Ateneo de Naga University (772 Phil. 366 [2015]), the Supreme Court expounded on the quintessence of professionalism. Thus:

“Every profession is defined by the knowledge, skills, attitude and ethics of those in the profession. In purporting one’s self as a professional, a person does more than merely make a statement as to an activity that preoccupies him or her – an occupation – which may serve as a means for earning a living, that is, a livelihood.. Rather, he or she proclaims or professes to commit himself or herself among a select class of learned, trained, competent, and proficient individuals adhering to an established and commonly held set of standards:                

Profession derives from the Latin word ‘profiteor’, to profess, which can also have the connotation of making a formal commitment in the sense of taking a monastic oath. This root might suggest that a professional is someone who claims to possess knowledge of something and has a commitment to a particular code or set of values, both of which are fairly well-accepted characteristics of professions. Persons claiming themselves to be professionals hold themselves to others and to society itself as being faithful to benchmarks of quality. Being a professional is, thus, a matter of credibility and trustworthiness. Accordingly, ethics and values are as inherent to professions as are training and technical competence. Standards of integrity can never be divorced from standards of workmanship, technique, and operation”.

                Indeed, professionalism transcends beyond the mere “possession of knowledge of something and a commitment to a particular code or set of values”.  It demands the endowment of “ethics” and “values” and the observance of some “standards of integrity” that must be in rhythm with ones “workmanship, technique and operation”.

Professionalism does not only mean being present in class; but showing up ready to discuss the topic with the students. For the lawyer, it does not simply require attending a hearing; but rather being prepared to argue the client’s case- as if his/ her own life is on the line. For writers, neither does professionalism simply mean putting words on paper; the writing must shed a part of the writer’s sincerest thoughts, feelings, and even his/ her soul. In anything, professionalism means fueling ones action with passion and dedication. There can be no holding back with any selfish reservation.

More important, professionalism is not a responsibility to oneself, but to the social construct. Its ripples go a long way in the making of professionals out of students. In short, professionalism begets professionalism.  Manalo v. Ateneo de Naga University foretold that:

“xxxx Professionals educate students and open their eyes to what it means to be lawyers, teachers, doctors, nurses or engineers, not only by theory, but even by the very examples of their lives”.

Thus the most effective way to teach professionalism is for professors to be professionals, act professionally, and live their lives in a professional manner.

In today’s society where a war is raging in Ukraine, the price of oil is seeing an acute escalation, and economies are battered by the pandemic, exuding professionalism in the classroom, the workplace, or any public place for that matter, will surely be a silver lining in a world that is pervaded by rudeness.

There is no exact opposite term for professionalism in the dictionary. Perhaps what this means is that people are only meant to be professionals.

In the end, professionalism is not just a work ethic. It must be a way of life.

(The author is the senior partner of ET Reyes III & Associates– a law firm based in Iloilo City. He is a litigation attorney, a law professor and a law book author. His website is etriiilaw.com).