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Atty. William T. Chua '72: Exemplary Alumni Awardee Acceptance Speech by Son Derek Chua

Posted Thursday, 31-May-2007 8:21 AM

Delivered by Derek Chua of batch 2000 son of Atty. William T. Chua., at the Angelo King Multi-purpose Hall, on the Occasion of the Awarding Ceremonies for the Xavier School Golden Jubilee Awards for Exemplary Alumni.

To the Xavier School Board of Trustees and all the people present here today, on behalf of me and my family, we thank you for this great honor with great humility.  When I think of what my father would say if he were here today, I’d imagine him saying that he was just doing what every person of conscience and moral fiber would do in his chosen vocation.  My father heard the call of law, and in that he committed himself to fighting for what he believed in—for the basic human rights and dignity of every person.    

Many would not understand why my dad did the things he did, and for a time neither did I—why he would risk his family’s safety to fight kidnappers, or defend the common laborer against oppressive businessmen.  To borrow a phrase from The Man From La Mancha: “He fought for the right without question or pause…he was willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause."  As I grew older, I came to understand that these causes struck him in a profound way—they put fire in his eyes and drove him his whole life.   

Being a Xavierian myself, I have also come to realize that the foundations for what my dad accomplished in life were laid out here.  I have always been proud of being an alumnus of this school, but this award for Papa makes me even prouder.  As Xavierians, it is our duty to build on the values that were taught to us within these walls; that we not forget our moral roots and the continuous search for excellence—principles espoused and taught by this institution.  But it is one thing to talk about values; the real challenge for us is to live them out the way Papa did.      

My father in reality was a simple man.  In him many saw the traits of a hero, especially after his death.  Through him, many were encouraged that a simple man could be a hero too.  I’m proud of my dad, not because other people say he is a hero, but because I see in him a simple man who lived his life the way he should have, followed his calling and his conscience, and did what he was supposed to do when his time came.  Every person is capable of extraordinary things.  He must just find it within himself and have the courage to live up to the goodness in him.  It does not take much to move our society to the right direction.  To quote Dr. Blaine Lee: “The principles you live by create the world you live in; change the principles you live by and you can change the world.”  All we need to do is believe in change and stand firmly behind the unimpeachable principles of truth, justice and the dignity of man.  That I think is the greatest lesson my father left me, and the fact that Xavier School has honored him has shown me and everyone else that his work was not in vain.  Thank you and good evening.

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