By Dr. Tony Leachon 

A past president of the PHIlippine College of Physicians once asked me: Where does one think they are in control to undo the past? My answer is simple: nowhere. The past cannot be undone, nor erased by meetings or gestures. It is written, and it carries consequences that cannot be wished away.

The Philippine College of Physicians’ decision (to suspend me for six months) is a reminder of this truth.

What has been done cannot be reversed by polite reconciliations or ceremonial gatherings. The past stands as a record, and it demands accountability. To imagine that it can be undone is to deny the lessons it teaches.

What we can control is how we face the truth, how we carry ourselves in the present, and how we safeguard the integrity of our profession moving forward.

Calm disposition is valuable, yes, but reconciliation without accountability is hollow. Justice is not optional—it is the foundation of trust.

I have crossed the Rubicon on this matter. For me, the past is not a relic to be buried but a lesson to be remembered. My resolve is to uphold principle, even if it means accepting that some bridges are beyond repair.

This is not bitterness—it is clarity. To cross the Rubicon is to accept that there is no turning back, only forward. And forward means standing firm in truth, even when it isolates, even when it costs.

The College must understand: integrity is not negotiable, and silence in the face of wrongdoing is complicity.

The decision may wound, but it also clarifies. It separates those who choose comfort from those who choose conscience. And in that separation, the path of principle becomes unmistakable.

The past cannot be undone. But the future can be redeemed—if we choose justice, if we choose truth, if we choose to stand, even when standing means standing alone.