Pathway to Public Service

Adel’s early exposure to his father’s commitment to serving the public as a senator and statesman brought profound effects on his way of leading his life. Steeped deeply under his father’s virtuous love of serving his countrymen, Adel has learned the rudiments of life through a well-rounded education pioneered by the premier educational institutions in the country.

Starting off as a high school student from Dela Salle University-Greenhills, he became an Economics degree holder from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1992, then went on to take up his law proper at the same university and graduated in 1996 as a Juris Doctor.

As public service has taken him all the more, he took up Master of Public Administration at the University of the Philippines focusing on Judicial Governance and Reform which he finished in 2003.

This served as a springboard for him to later become the first Filipino Muslim scholar at the Harvard Law School — a singular yet humbling honor that he cherishes dearly in his heart.

An Enviable Honor

Capping Adel’s years of education is his rare distinction as the first Filipino Muslim scholar at the Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachussets for his Master of Laws degree. His entry into this Ivy League school as a graduate program scholar to undertake Islamic Legal Studies has opened his outlook to see the world in a better perspective for humanity — where race, color, faith and ideology do not serve as divisions but rather as unifying factors for humankind to make this world a better place to live in.

He derives his inspiration to serve humanity from God’s gift of humbling talents. His rare opportunity to serve as the commencement speaker of his Harvard class in 2005 has led many observers to believe that he can measure up to taking up tasks of greater responsibility and transformational leadership.

His Harvard education has opened his eyes to look closely to how one can contribute more to the betterment of the society as an offshoot of that kind of education. Adel believes that the worth of education can only be measured by the success of one’s ability to contribute to the greater extent towards the improvement of his country and his society. This was the main message of his commencement address before his fellows who came from more than 60 countries. Indeed, it is not the prestige that goes along a degree from the leading pedigreed university in US that is foremost in their heart. It is their commitment to translating their higher studies into a beacon of hope for humankind to pursue a better lot for everyone.