reflections of a working law student (a personal history, part 1)

it was 1999.  i had barely dipped my toes into the corporate world when the itch to go back to school got to me.  so after a brief stint in the private sector, i decided to go back to the university to get my law degree. 

the bum club

we were in the evening section and supposedly had full-time jobs.  since i was still looking for a new full-time job and was only getting P8,000/month for part-time work as a research assistant to a former professor, i considered myself a bum when compared to our other classmates who held on to their ortigas or makati jobs.  P8,000 wasn't enough to cover my rent, daily sustenance, reading materials, photocopying expenses, transportation costs, credit card bills, etc., etc.

there were four of us who had no full-time jobs at that time:  mich, jolette, jolaz and i.  because we were usually the first ones from our block to make tambay in the library most days, and because we had all the time in the world to stay out at night after classes, a classmate started calling us "bums," hence, the birth of the "bum club."

we would feed off each other's poverty
jolette: plang, may pera ka?
me: meron, last 100p
j: pautang naman, hati tayo, may raket ako bukas, bayaran kita.
and mooch off each other's food
me: gf, may baon kang cookies?
mich: yep. nsa bag ko
me: kunin ko ha. hungry na e.
after classes at night, we would be the first ones to say "tara! inuman na!" only for our classmates to find out that we didn't have money to pay for our part of the bill.  most of our classmates who were better off would usually offer to pay for us.  (gratis to gerry agustin, jard arbolado, & during those times when she could make it, arlene roura)

of course our classmates did not leave us "always wanting."  gerry gave us pre-approved credit cards so that we could use them for emergencies while we were waiting for our job offers.  arlene gave us writing rakets to earn extra money.  and at the end of the sem, we had a writing project required by one of our professors, we did for the whole class for a fee! 

we had fun doing that project.  we waited until mich's mom gave her money for gas.  then we had to go to the national library, & the congress and senate archives for research.  on one of those trips, we decided to go to the quirino grandstand breakwater.  feeling very manilenyo & very poor, we sat on the balustrade and contemplated on the direction of our lives, while munching on a pack of cheap chicharon.

the job hunt

although the work as a research assistant was okay, i knew i had to look for a higher paying job given that i was sending myself through law school.  my job requirements:  it had to be somewhere in quezon city, the salary had to be good, the work hours should be flexible, and i had to be honest with my prospective employer that law school was my priority.

i applied to the Social Security System, only to find out that i needed a 'backer.'  i didn't know that positions in the SSS were very in demand, until i found out that even the clerks got a monthly take home pay of at least P15,000.  figures.

i tried giving my resume to the security guard of the Bangko Sentral, since he didn't want to let me inside the gate.  (they have an office in east avenue)  the guard told me i had to go to roxas blvd, their main office site.  it was only then when i found out that the big high-fenced building on east avenue is where they print the money and mint the coins.  therefore, not being an engineer or technical person, they didn't need me there.  i decided to save my resume, coz applying for work in roxas blvd. would have defeated my purpose of quitting my makati job to look for a job near UP.

so i decided to try my luck at the house of representatives.  i heard from some former dormmates that the pay there was good and the work was fulfilling, depending on who your boss was.  armed with around 20 copies of my resume, i went to batasan.

i went around the whole complex that first day.  i looked for the offices of the congressmen who i wanted to work with & learn from.  i remember i gave my resumes to these offices: then majority leader mar roxas, minority leader sonny belmonte, cong. migz zubiri, cong. mike defensor, cong. chiz escudero.  the rest i've already forgotten.

i remember my first interview was with the office of cong. zubiri.  al and rey (who became lunch buddies later in my congress stint) were curious why i wanted to work with migz.  i told them (1) he's young, (2) i love it that he has a stand on environmental issues, and (3) i heard there was an opening.  they liked me (i know they did! haha. and they confirmed it afterwards), but they were looking for a female technical staff who would double as migz's personal assistant and national coordinator.  they needed someone who had a flexible schedule and who could travel anywhere upon notice, and as a freshman law student, i really didn't fit the bill.

my next interview was at the office of the majority leader.  "do you believe the majority leader has the makings of a future president of the philippines?"  of course i said yes, because the country needs a leader with a good economic background, blah-blah-blah.  deep inside, i felt like i was being interviewed to be part of mar's election campaign staff or something.  anyway, that job didn't push through, because two weeks after my interview, mar was appointed as a cabinet secretary.

i was just about at my wits end and getting ready to ask my job back from my SGV boss when i got the page from nad, a very good friend from college & a staff member at the office of the minority leader.  i was to report the following day for an essay exam and an initial interview with their director.  as in my previous congress interviews, i was in full corporate attire, with pantyhose and a scarf.  nad was laughing at me.  he told me i was overdressed, but it was very chic. (obviously, he's gay.)

the essay exam was like answering my LAE essay portion:  (1) what is the role of the House of Representatives in the development of Philippine society?, (2) what is the role of the Minority Group in Congress?  Do you believe that this role is constructive, or merely obstructionary?, (3) what are your qualities which will make you a pro-active member of the staff of the Minority Leader and the Minority Group in Congress?  (of course i don't remember these questions.  i found my essays last night which led me to write this blog. haha.) 

the interview was easier, mainly because the director, atty. grace, was really nice.  i remember she tried to be mataray, but she knew that i was friends with nad, and i had friends who knew markk (another staffmember), and i was in UP Law like ivy (another staffmember), so maybe, just maybe, she felt like i was already part of her brood.  (haha. assuming.)

anyway, after almost a month of waiting, i got in.  i officially became Political Affairs Officer 2 of the Office of the Minority Leader just when i was down to my last salary as research assistant.  i heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that somehow, Fate was still on my side.

quasi-judicial bodies

i have a case pending before a quasi-judicial body somewhere in quezon city.  the complaint was filed last june 2006.  since that time, there has been 2 hearings and 3 postponements.  and never, NEVER, did the board itself sit down to hold the hearing. 

almost one year, and wala pa rin.  unbelievable.  disgusting. disheartening.

to think that i advised my client to go with the filing of the administrative case first, since i presumed that this would be the "plain, speedy and adequate remedy" contemplated by the judiciary in the de-clogging of the court dockets.

de-clogging my ass.

if a quasi-judicial tribunal cannot even decide on a simple complaint that is prima facie FOR the complainant (i am not biased.  it's the truth.), i will not even dare to think how this board treats the more complex cases.

so the next time something happens to you, go to the police.  file the criminal case.  it's still the speediest and harshest thing you can do to your opponent in order to win.  fast.

my gf

arlene, my best friend, is a lesbian.  and with deep apologies to her girlfriends (past) and her girlfriend now, i will always call her my 'gf'.

a few weeks back, she appeared with her real girlfriend on i-witness documentaries on GMA7.  the topic:  lesbians in philippine society.

watch the i-witness episode

oh.  and by the way, i was the "ninang" to this relationship.  yepyep, my matchmaking wonders don't only work with heteros, but with homos too!