03/09/2026
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CEBU CITY โ University of the Visayas-Gullas Law School (UV-GLS) alumnus Joshua Tambor has become the first Visayanian to earn a distinction in the Foundation for Liberty and Prosperity (FLP) Nationwide Dissertation Writing Contest after his thesis was named Third Best Thesis in the 2026 competition.
Tamborโs winning entry, โBahala Na is Not a Legal Standard: An Analysis of the Preventive Standards in International Environmental Law and their Relevance to the Protection of Liberty and Prosperity under the Conditions of Escalating Climate Risk,โ placed among the best submissions from law students across the country.
The recognition marks the first time a Visayanian has received an award in the nationwide competition.
Founded by retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban, the Foundation for Liberty and Prosperity promotes the philosophy of โLiberty and Prosperity under the Rule of Law,โ which advances the idea that individual freedom and economic well-being must be pursued together within a just legal order.
Its nationwide dissertation writing competition provides law students an avenue to undertake legal scholarship on issues affecting liberty, prosperity, social justice and the rule of law, and to examine how legal principles can respond to contemporary challenges facing Filipino society.
Tambor focused his research on one of the countryโs most pressing concerns: the increasing risks posed by climate change and recurring disasters.
Using Cebu City as a focal point, the study examines how recurring floods, infrastructure failures and livelihood losses cannot always be attributed solely to natural forces. It argues that the severity of disasters may also be traced to foreseeable human and institutional factors, including land-use decisions, inadequate infrastructure planning and weak enforcement of environmental regulations in high-risk areas.
The thesis challenges the conventional characterization of disasters as purely โnaturalโ occurrences and questions the continued reliance on the concept of fortuitous events when their consequences could have been reasonably anticipated or mitigated.
Drawing on international treaties, customary international law and the International Court of Justiceโs 2025 Advisory Opinion on climate change, Tambor argues that escalating climate risks require legal standards anchored on prevention, due diligence and accountability.
The study further advances the position that environmental protection should not be treated merely as a policy concern separate from the rule of law. Instead, it argues that effective environmental governance is closely connected to the protection of life, liberty, livelihood and economic security, particularly among communities most vulnerable to climate-related disasters.
The titleโs declaration โ โBahala Na is Not a Legal Standardโ โ captures the central argument of the research: that increasingly foreseeable climate risks demand preventive government action rather than resignation to disasters as unavoidable events.
Tambor completed the thesis under the supervision of his adviser, Atty. Eunice Baliong.
His third-place finish gives UV Gullas Law School its first recognition in the FLP nationwide dissertation competition and places a Visayanian among the law students recognized nationally for scholarship advancing the Foundationโs ideals of liberty and prosperity under the rule of law.
The recognition also makes Tambor part of the community of FLP scholars and awardees established by the Foundation to encourage young members of the legal profession to contribute to the development of Philippine law and public policy.
