justice carpio's advice to the law graduate

These are excerpts from Supreme Court Justice Carpio’s address to the U.P. Law Class of 2009 on April 27, 2009. I believe this applies to everyone who continues to practice the legal profession.

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Advice to the Law Graduate—Justice Antonio T. Carpio
MONDAY, 27 APRIL 2009

In 1975, some thirty-four years ago, I too was a graduate of the UP College of Law. I was also seated in an auditorium like this listening to our graduation speaker. Looking back, what would have I wanted then as a young law graduate to hear from our graduation speaker?

With the benefit of hindsight from almost 34 years in the practice of law, as private practitioner, lecturer in the UP College of Law, counsel to the President, and Justice of the Supreme Court, there are six advices I would have wanted to hear in 1975 from our graduation speaker, and which I now humbly offer to you, the Class of 2009.

1. Defend and Protect the Constitution 

My first advice is you must, as law graduates and as future lawyers, defend and protect the Constitution at every opportunity.  This means you must keep abreast with developments on Constitutional Law, no matter what field of law you practice.  As you start your practice, be it labor, corporation law, or litigation, you will tend to ignore developments on Constitutional Law.  That is a mistake.  Without the civil liberties in the Constitution, you cannot  freely practice any field of law. The fundamental rights in the Constitution allow you to practice other fields of law.  Without these fundamental rights, the practice of law will be self-demeaning.

I started my law practice during martial law, and for a young lawyer then the legal environment was bizarre. There was a wide gap between law and justice, between the guarantees of the Constitution and the reality on the streets.  Many things I learned in law school were irrelevant.  The noble and majestic words I read in Supreme Court decisions appeared written for a different country and time, not for the Philippines at that time.

We must not return to those dark days.  We must not live through those suffocating years again.  That is why everyone who has studied law has a duty to defend and protect the Constitution, especially the civil liberties enshrined in our Constitution.   Whenever and wherever our civil liberties are threatened, be the first to oppose those threats, because those threats not only prevent the honest and dignified practice of law, they also menace our fundamental rights as human beings.

When you practice law, you may be enticed by politicians who dream to be dictators to help them rewrite the Constitution for their own benefit.  Resolutely fight and oppose such moves, even at the risk of losing your job or clients.   Always remember that the Constitution is written for the benefit of the Filipino people, not for the benefit of one man or one family.  No politician, no government official, not even the President of the Philippines, is larger or more important than the Constitution.

2.  Preserve the Independence and Integrity of the Judiciary     

My second advice is you must preserve the independence and integrity of the Judiciary. If you want the judge to render a fair and impartial decision, regardless of who the parties or lawyers are in a case, then you must insure that the Judiciary remains independent and honest. If you want a level playing field in the practice of law, then you must work hard for an independent and honest judiciary.

This means that you must see to it that only independent, honest and competent people are appointed to the Judiciary..  The Integrated Bar of the Philippines has a representative in the Judicial and Bar Council.  So does the community of law professors.  And so does the community of retired Justices.  Working together, these representatives have enough clout to insure that only independent, competent and honest judges are nominated to the Judiciary.
In your practice, you will often be faced with a situation where your client wants to win a case through fair or foul means.  Your client may even demand that you bribe the judge first before the opposing side gets him.  Politely but firmly decline, and be prepared to walk away from a client who insists that you commit a crime of bribery for his sake.  No client is ever worth committing a crime.

If you want an independent and honest judiciary, then never do anything that will corrupt the Judiciary.  If you do, then you deserve the Judiciary you get and you have no one else to blame but yourself.   There is no dictator if there is no servile citizen.  And there is no corrupt judge if there is no litigant or lawyer corrupting him.

Lest you think that the burden of preserving the integrity of the Judiciary rests on practicing lawyers alone, let me cite you the statistics. In the last three years alone, from January 2006 to March 2009, the Supreme Court dismissed thirteen trial court judges and one Court of Appeals Justice, suspended 16 trial court judges and one Court of Appeals Justice, and fined 138 trial court judges.  The Supreme Court even imposed a fine of P500,000 on one of its former members, the largest fine ever imposed on a member of the Judiciary. I assure you that the Supreme Court continues to cleanse the Judiciary to maintain its independence and integrity. 
Recently, the lawyers of Pakistan have shown the world how to defend and preserve the independence of the Judiciary.  The Pakistani lawyers took to the streets to demand the reinstatement of Chief Justice Mohammad Chaudry.  The then President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, dismissed Chief Justice Chaudry for staunchly upholding the independence of the Judiciary.   In the face of  persistent mass action by Pakistani lawyers, the  incumbent President of Pakistan, Asif Zardari, reluctantly reinstated Chief Justice Chaudry.  The historic and courageous actions of the Pakistani lawyers strengthened for all time the independence of the Judiciary in Pakistan.

3.  Oppose Corruption in Government

My third advice is you must oppose corrupt acts of those who hold public office.   Public office is a public trust.  If that trust is breached, as future lawyers you must lead the citizenry in demanding an accounting.  History has shown that only a vigilant citizenry can prevent abuse of public trust.  An abuse of public trust that goes unchecked will repeat itself, and will become widespread and even more vicious. 

When I was still in the private practice of law, I was one of those who filed the first plunder case against a sitting President. My law partners and I fielded a battery of lawyers in the first impeachment trial of a President.  And these private lawyers assisted the public prosecutors in the plunder trial. The idea that we wanted to convey is that the citizenry, led by lawyers, must prevent abuses especially by the highest public official. If we do not, then no one else will and we will truly deserve the government we get.

4.  Observe the Ethics of the Profession

My fourth advice is you must take seriously the observance of legal ethics.  Many lawyers think that legal ethics is important only to pass the bar examinations.  That is a grave mistake.  For the last two years alone, 2007 and 2008, the Supreme Court disbarred 10 lawyers, suspended 52, fined 163, and reprimanded, admonished or warned 108. 
No other profession is as tightly regulated and disciplined as the legal profession.   And the reason is simple. Lawyers are officers of the court and owe special duties to the court.  No other profession owe such special duties to an entire branch of government. 
In your practice, it will serve you well if you will now and then read the latest Supreme Court decisions on legal ethics. It is so amazing how lawyers can be so brazen in transgressing the ethics of the profession. Those who disregard legal ethics often have three adversaries: the party affected, the opposing counsel, and the court – and even one of them is one adversary too many.  So take seriously the ethics of your profession.

5. Specialize but Keep Abreast of other Fields of Law

My fifth advice is you can specialize in a particular field of law, but you must keep abreast of developments in other fields of law.  Complex commercial transactions may require that you specialize in specific fields -  in corporation law, intellectual property law, tax law or in other areas.   This does not mean that you do not have to know what is happening in other fields of law.  

To be good in your area of specialization, you must be able to relate, and reinforce, your arguments from legal principles in other fields of law.   Sometimes, the answer to legal questions in your field of specialization may come from other fields of law.  Do not develop a tunnel vision by focussing only in your field of specialization.

6. Bridge the Gaps between Law and Justice

My sixth and last advice is you must work to bridge the gaps between law and justice.   What is legal is not necessarily just. The U.S. Supreme Court once held that blacks were inferior to whites, and deserved to be slaves.   That was the law then, but that was terribly unjust.  There are many gaps between law and justice, and it is your solemn mission as future lawyers to close these gaps.

In the United States, the right to privacy was recognized by courts when two private lawyers wrote that it was unjust that an ordinary citizen’s private affairs could be laid bare and ridiculed before the public.  The right of blacks to study in the same school and classroom as whites was recognized when activist lawyers questioned the separate but equal doctrine in over half a century of legal battles.

In our country, hate speech against minorities is not actionable. Companies, local and foreign, can exploit the nation’s natural resources without sharing the profits with the Filipino people. These are gaps between law and justice that can trigger social and economic strife among our people. As future lawyers, you have the duty to lead in closing these gaps and thus bring justice to our people.

The absence of a law is not an excuse to allow any form of injustice.  And as you have learned in Republic v. Sandignabayan, even the absence of a Constitution is not an excuse to deprive the people of fundamental human rights.  One of your greatest challenges is to insure that justice is done even in the absence of a law or even in the absence of a Constitution.  Having been taught law in the grand manner in the U.P. College of Law, you will, I am sure, rise to this challenge.

privacy of last resort

after the judy ann santos & ryan agoncillo wedding last april 28, my multiply hits SOARED for the pics i posted of balai laiya in san juan, batangas.

now i remember... when arlene & pat got married there independence day of last year, we were surprised to see joel torre & his family packing up. we found out that they were semi-regulars (daw) of the place.

the resort is secluded, very private, very quiet, and unlike other resorts where you just pay for the room, you have to pay "per head" at balai laiya, which includes your room & meals.  they have a really good chef. we loooooved the food.  super winner. hehehe.

i guess after this "surprise" high profile wedding, we have to say goodbye to laiya being just a private enclave.

wheels turning round

after years of working in congress and exactly 6 years as committee technical staff of various house committees, i attended a house committee hearing as a resource person. 

it felt really weird at first.  after all, i started out as the go-girl during my first ever committee hearing, making sure that all members & guests had their nameplates (que horror if you misspelled the name of a congressman, or put a different district under his name), giving out the members' complete kits & materials, running around looking for members to "borrow" from other committee meetings... you get the drift. 

today... i was just there, waiting for the meeting to start.  and i had my own nameplate. haha.

at the very least, these little things make me realize that my continued stay in congress is stable but not stagnant. 

the ladder is mine to climb. question is, do i really, really, really want to climb it?

all torn up

an waray gained another seat after the supreme court decided to radically alter the party list law.  don't get me wrong.  i was jumping up & down when bem told me about the decision.  but when i actually got to read the decision, i just couldn't get how the supreme court decided that way. 

since i strongly believe that no one will (directly) file a motion for reconsideration on the decision, i am very worried about what the decision would mean for the 2010 elections, and thereafter.  because now, a party can win a seat even without the 2% (of the total number of votes cast for party list) requirement.  it will only give you a guaranteed seat, but as long as you have enough votes to rank you high-up-there among all the party list groups, most probably you will gain a seat.  take party list #37 in table 3 of banat v. comelec.  despite it gaining only 0.34 percent of the total votes cast for party list, they will be gaining one seat. 

the intent of the supreme court to "liberalize" party list representation in the House is leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.  but because i am actively involved in an waray, the selfish part of me says i should accept the new ruling. 

but i am a lawyer.  and i am seriously, honestly bothered about the latest turn of events.

sigh.

parents: boycott trinoma

i am seething mad at what my law school classmate, japs hatta, and her baby julia went through at trinoma.

please help spread the word.

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bad bad trinoma experience
(originally posted at http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=72119849538&ref=nf)

i felt so bad earlier today because of the treatment we received in one of the major malls here in manila, that i had to sit down and write.

while i work in quezon city, i have never set foot inside Trinoma. until today. and i think i regret doing so. there must be a reason why i am not a mall rat. in any case we had to pass by a mall because bebe Julia was going to attend a birthday party and we decided to buy something at the nearest mall. my brother dropped us off and bebe J, her loving PA ate frieda and myself explored Trinoma on our own.

first things first, bebe J had a nappy "accident", and we had to find the nearest restroom to change nappies. so off we went into the sea of people inside Trinoma. we asked the guards, who were friendly, for the restroom. we reached the one just beside Gilligan's Island resto. so far so good.

the baby changing station was just at the entrance of the restroom. nice, easy to find, generally clean - though hardly like the restrooms in the new greenbelt areas or gateway. then the strangest thing happened. the cleaning lady looked at us with some concern. possibly she smelled that familiar scent from a used nappie :) and tried to find the culprits. yep guilty as charged, nappie accident here folks. we cleaned up bebe J with the wet tissues, but her nappie accident is of the kind that needs real washing with water and soap --- otherwise, baka mag rashes or worse magka UTI.

so i approached the worried cleaning lady and asked where could we wash. she told me, "bawal who maghugas ng bata dito". okay so if i cannot wash her here, where can i wash her? "dito na lang ho, she said and she directed us outside of the restroom and brought us to, of all places and to my complete shock and disgust, a MOP ROOM! where they wash and hang dirty mops used to clean the floor of the mall!!

i couldnt believe i was in Trinoma. wow mali kaya ito? baka tine-test lang nila kung magagalit ako on cam? baka may hidden cam inside the mop room? when my officemates describe Trinoma, its as if its a high end, sosy place which can trump SM North anytime. sige, poise muna, baka nga may camera.

so as i held bebe J who at that point was actually half naked(!) as we were supposed to wash her, i tried to clarify with the cleaning lady. Miss, ang dumi dumi nyang lagayan ng mop ninyo. Bakit mo naman ipapalinis ang anak ko jan? to which she replied "o sige ho sa kabila na lang". and so i thought she was bringing us to another bathroom, possibly one for disabled people. usually in restos like Jollibee and McDonalds, they let us use the one for disabled if we need to wash bebe J kase mas maluwag at mas malinis.

she led us farther down back, into a restroom area where i assume staff of the mall stalls use. i started to go towards one of the sinks, and then the cleaning lady calls me "Ma'am hindi ho jan, dito ho" and she was directing me to.. you have to guess.. another MOP room! with newly washed mop heads dripping.

the mother instinct in me suddenly kicked in. and like a mommy dog who has just given birth, and protecting her pups, my voice suddenly transformed. camera or no camera, i had to put my foot down. i will not wash my baby in a mop area. i told the miss, Nobody is using this sink here, baka pwede naman kami dito. wala na siya nagawa after that.

when we were going outside, a security guard who used the area was also walking out. bebe J likes security guard and usually gives them a snappy salute when we enter and exit our condo. she looked up at the man and said in the sweetest voice and with a very nice smile, "Hi :)". the guard couldnt help but smile back, and suddenly wondered why we were coming from that area. he said "Maam, bakit po kayo nag CR pa doon?" i recounted to him what happened and showed him the mop area that we were asked to use. nagulat siya "Maam dapat ho pinapunta niya kayo sa CR for the disabled".

that got me to thinking, if all these malls advertise and enchant families to spend weekend family time in them, being a public place and all, it becomes their responsibility to make provisions for such things as basic as how does a mom (or dad) clean up baby who just had a nappie accident? since malls are used by the public so much, doesn't it transform into a public utility and thus imbued with public trust?

hoist! prrrrt! stop, what the heck was i going to buy in this darn mall? my brother is texting us that he was about to return and pick us up sa drop off area.

after buying the gift, i went to the concierge area and reported it to their CSR Joseph there. i told him, you have incomplete facilities for children, and even before i could proceed to relate what happened, Joseph told me "Dapat sa paid CR kayo pumunta"

haay, tumataas ba ang blood pressure ninyo sa ganitong situwasyon? ano kaya ang ibig sabihin ni Joseph by saying that? tama bang isipin kong nainsulto kami by that remark? o baka dahil sa mababa na ang kalidad ng edukasyon sa Pilipinas at siguro kinulang siya ng bitamina at mineral nang lumalaki siya, si Joseph ay mejo kinulang sa pag abot ng developmental milestones nya.

i replied, it is immaterial whether we went to the paid and non paid CRs. you do not direct your customers to wash in the mop area twice if you do not have facilities for babies/toddlers.

he asked me to fill out a complaint form and i gave my name, number and a two liner, RCPI telegraph description of what happened. WAS ASKED TO LEAVE RESTROOM WASH THE BABY/CHILD IN THE MOP AREA. STOP. TWICE. STOP. END OF MESSAGE

about an hour and a half later, while we were in the kiddie party sa Max, my phone rang. the caller was not identified, but i answered it just the same. it was Joseph from Trinoma. i must admit, it was good for him to call. pero here was he had to say.

Ma'am, i just wanted to tell you that we have acted on your complaint. i already spoke with the SUpervisor of the maintenance unit, and told them about your complaint. the Supervisor has investigated what happened and sabi ng Supervisor, talagang bawal gamitin ang sink para mag-hugas.

whoa. wait a minute. teka, BP check muna ako. parang sumirit ang dugo sa ulo ko.

and Ma'am what the janitress should have done was to direct you to the CR for disabled people, and given you a pail/timba to wash your child.

whoa!! teka, di pwede mag-say ng bad words dito...

dear mommies and daddies, aunties, uncles, lolas and lolos, what would you have done? sabi ko na nga ba kinulang ng bitamina at mineral itong si Joseph. dapat kase, malunggay leaves na lang ang kinain niya.

i told Joseph, the business of a mall is customer service. you entice people to come to you and buy from you and enjoy within its confines. you cannot treat your customers this way. you will ask me to go to the CR with a pail??? to wash my daughter who is probably cleaner than any of you. she bathes 3 times a day, i doubt if your staff bath more than once. gagawin niyo ba yan sa mga mayaman ninyong customer? hindi ako mayaman, pero edukado ako at may pinagaralan. halimbawang si JAZA (zobel de ayala) ang dumating sa Trinoma with his grandchild who needs a nappie change. would you tell JAZA, sir here is a pail, please proceed to the disabled CR and wash your apo there. Joseph said, of course, "No po". well then, if you wont do this to people like JAZA or the owner of Trinoma, why will you do such a thing to your customers??? the reality of life is, a baby eats, it pees and it poops. if you entice customers to spend their family time in your malls, then you have to think about these realities. what happens if the child pees or poops? throw them in the mop room?? what is the reason why we would change a child's nappy if not for it being soiled by pee or poopy. yes you have a diaper changing station there, but you would also need to wash the baby. (as our pediatricians hammer upon as you need to ensure that area is always clean, specially for baby girls because the risk of UTI is high specially for those always wearing nappies. ) your facilities are therefore incomplete. you need to talk about how your provisions are able to accommodate such incidents.

of course, predictably, Joseph replies. "I fully understand what you are saying and how you feel Ma'am, rest assured we will take this up."

sa tingin nyo, totoo kayang he fully understands and feels how i feel? or is this a spiel we always get in response to complaints?

sana makakain pa ng malunggay si Joseph.

sorry for this quite lengthy story. its a load off my chest. thanks for bearing with me.

overwhelmed with love & rock 'n' roll

the outpouring of support, warm bodies and greetings is overwhelming.  we feel the love.

to all those who made it, my eternal thanks for making the event a resounding success. 

we are blessed. 

rauf, my fighter, rocker & future heartbreaker, is one helluva lucky guy.  and i'm one super lucky cool mom.

peace out. :)