Speech by Senator Loren Legarda30th City of Malabon University (CMU) Commencement Exercises | Rizal Park Hotel, Manila | July 9, 2025

Faculty and staff, proud parents, esteemed guests, alumni, and most especially, the graduating Class of 2025—isang napakagandang hapon sa inyong lahat.

Being with you today feels like coming home. I was born and raised in Malabon, in Barangay Potrero. My childhood unfolded among mango trees I used to climb, butterflies I chased, and stars I traced from our yard at night, dreaming of becoming an astronaut. That was the Malabon of my youth: a place of wonder, safety, and possibility.

Our home in Potrero—built in the 1930s by Otto Scheerer, a German ethnographer and first governor of Batanes—was a house filled with books, laughter, and stories. My grandmother, Lola Memang, would speak of her father, Ariston Gella, a delegate to the Malolos Congress that drafted the first Philippine Constitution—the very first republican constitution in Asia. Meanwhile, my grandfather, Jose Bautista, who was the editor-in-chief of the pre-martial law Manila Times, taught me early on the power of words, the importance of truth, and the value of standing one’s ground.

It was there that I first learned what it meant to live with purpose; to shape a life not just for oneself, but in service of something greater.

And so today, dear graduates, I speak to you not merely as your four-term senator, but as a daughter of Malabon who knows that the learners of the City of Malabon University—you are individuals who strive not just to succeed, but to uplift others along the way.

Allow me, then, to offer a few reflections that I hope will guide you from this day forward.

Una: Huwag kalimutan na ang tunay na tagumpay ay ang paglilingkod. Sa ilang dekada ko sa serbisyo publiko, iisa ang paniniwalang hindi nagbago: ang tunay na sukatan ng tagumpay ay hindi ang titulo, palakpakan, o yaman, kundi kung paano tayo naging daan sa pag-angat ng iba.

When I first entered the Senate in 1998, I was only 38 years old. Young by traditional standards, I was often questioned for the causes I chose to champion—environmental protection, women’s and children’s rights, cultural preservation, and disaster risk reduction, among others. Many advised me to pursue more “popular” issues that could easily translate to votes. But even then, I understood that true leadership means having the courage to fight for what matters, even if it means standing alone.

That same conviction gave rise to one of the first laws I authored in the Senate: the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. It bears a simple yet powerful idea, that lasting change begins in our own households, and that each citizen has a role to play in protecting our environment.

I am proud to say that Barangay Potrero, where I was born and raised, became a model community for this law. Through the initiative and discipline of its residents, it was recognized by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) in 20157 for having one of the most effective zero-waste programs in Metro Manila.

This reminds us that the spectrum of public service is broad: it can begin in the smallest acts within our homes and ripple outward, ultimately contributing to the betterment of others’ lives. Dahil sa bawat gawaing may malasakit, sa bawat pasyang inuuna ang kapwa, naroon ang tunay na diwa ng paglilingkod.

Ikalawa: Huwag kalimutang mahalin ang ating kultura at kasaysayan.

Madalas tayong inaanyayahang tumingin palabas, gayahin ang mga banyagang modelo ng tagumpay, at sukatin ang ating sarili sa mga pamantayang hindi atin. Ngunit kailangan ding tumingin paloob—sa talino ng ating mga ninuno, sa husay ng ating mga manggagawa, at sa lalim ng ating sariling pamana. It is this inner gaze that anchors us, reminding us that we are not blank slates. We are heirs to centuries of resilience, creativity, and revolution.

In my work as a legislator and cultural advocate, I have seen how preserving our heritage can awaken a sense of dignity and purpose in our communities. When we restore what is old, we also reclaim what is essential. This is why I supported the declaration of San Bartolome Church in Malabon as an Important Cultural Property in 2022, because progress must never come at the cost of forgetting where we come from. Often, the answers we seek for the future are already written in the past we must remember.

So, wherever life may take you after this ceremony, whether into a corporate boardroom, a classroom, your own startup, or a government role, bring your heritage with you. For even in the most modern professions, it is your identity that will set you apart.

Dahil kultura at kasaysayan ang ating gabay, at sa bawat desisyong may pagtanaw sa pinanggalingan, tayo ay humahakbang patungo sa hinaharap na may saysay.

At ikatlo: Magsumikap at manindigan.

Throughout my life, I dedicated myself to public service. I do not take vacations, and I work 24/7. It is a choice I embraced fully. Because I believe that excellence demands
persistence, discipline, and hard work. This is the kind of perseverance I ask of you.

There will be days when your work feels invisible, your vision misunderstood, or the system too slow, too rigid, too broken. But still—especially then—press on.

Because I have seen what becomes possible when we persist. In 2015, when I initiated the Manila Call to Action on Climate Change—a landmark appeal launched by Presidents Benigno Aquino III and François Hollande—we helped shape the historic Paris Agreement.

Through our leadership in the Climate Vulnerable Forum, which led to the establishment of the V20 Group of Finance Ministers, we pushed for innovative financing for climate vulnerable nations like ours. And as Global Champion for Resilience of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), we helped forge multilateral partnerships that placed disaster risk reduction at the forefront of global action.

Because of these hard-won efforts, the Philippines is no longer seen as a victim of The climate crisis; instead, we are a policy leader. And though we remain one of the most vulnerable countries in the world, we are now better prepared—not because we waited to follow, but because we dared to lead.

This is the task I now ask of you.

I want you to dream so boldly that it scares you. When the world says “it cannot be done,” prove otherwise. When there’s no seat at the table, build one.

Speak the truth even when it trembles in your throat. Challenge what no longer serves. Do not wait for permission to act with integrity. Charge ahead and be brave. For the world is not transformed by comfort, it changes because of those who dare to leap, who labor without compromise, and who never lose sight of the common good.

To all the parents here today: congratulations. This toga, this victory, is yours to celebrate. None of our graduates would be here if not for the comforts you gave up, the dreams you deferred, and the countless sacrifices you made. Walang diploma ang sakripisyo ninyo, pero narito ang bunga. Saludo po ako sa inyong lahat.

To our teachers and faculty: you saw the potential in your students and believed in them. You gave your time, wisdom, and patience to treat every student like family. Malaking pasasalamat po sa inyong lahat. And to you, the graduates: do not hold back. Make paths where none exist. The world doesn’t need more dreamers watching from the sidelines. It needs doers and builders unafraid to try, fail, and rise again—ultimately succeeding to serve causes greater than themselves.

Start today.

The City of Malabon University is proud. And so is your country. Our nation could not ask for better partners than the bold, brilliant, and unstoppable Class of 2025.

Maraming salamat at isang luntiang Pilipinas sa ating lahat!