To hear a senior lawyer express his dismay over the justice system bothers the confidence of younger lawyers in the legal profession.
Below is the letter to the editor of a senior/veteran lawyer, Atty. Efren Carag, published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, which ends with a citation of Deuteronomy 16 in the New American Bible:
“You shall not distort justice; you must be impartial. You shall not take bribe; for a bribe blinds the eyes even of the wise and twists the words even of the just; justice and justice alone shall be your aim that you may have life.”
The letter expresses a balance between truth and money. Or, better yet, the happiness of voluntary poverty versus professional greed and corruption.
Lost Dreams
Philippine Daily Inquirer, October 9, 2008, p. A12.
RIGHT AFTER LOSING A CASE THAT MY office had zealously prayed for to win, PCGG chair Camilo Sabio painfully reminded me of the fact that the people-despite being prohibited by law or by the code of ethics- talk to judges and justices about their cases and then get favorable rulings and that “[i] f we follow strictly the law or the code, (and) we say that, we’re hypocrites.” (INQUIRER, 8/27/08)
I have been in the practice of law for 38 years, but I never talked to a judge or justice to ask for a favorable decision. Much less have I paid or even offered to pay anyone for a favorable judgment. My biggest test was in 1984. That year, a judge included me in his order of attachment in a suit against a finance company of which I was merely a lawyer. I considered asking for help from a lawyer- friend whom I knew was very close to the judge and from a colleague of the judge in the same court. I did not.
I was not comfortable making a selfish exception to my professional and personal rule that justice should be blind especially to the color of money and deaf to every manner of illegitimate persuasion.
My adversary and his lawyer were reportedly classmates of the judge and I saw them going in and out of his chamber. By the grace of the Almighty, I was cleared completely although by a different judge.
Like all lawyers, I also want to win and to be known. I also dream mansions, top-of-the-line vehicles and good food. I also dream of living luxury and in style.
Unfortunately, it has not been that way for me. Winning has been difficult. I lost many cases I honestly thought I should have won.
Could it have been because of my lack of competence? Maybe. But I hear people being under the payroll of this or that law office, of lawyers having access to prosecutors, labor arbiters, commissioners, judges and justices. Just last Friday, a retired general complained that a judge did not do as he was paid to do and instead offered to return the money given to him. And now comes Chairman Sabio.
So, where does that the place me?
Decades ago, a client lamented my future as a lawyer. Another asked if justice is not worth spending for.
To be sure, I too could go direct to judges and justices. But I chose to remain stubborn, insisting that there could be morality, integrity, honesty, and neutrality in the dispensation of justice. The message of Moses in Deuteronomy 16 in the New American Bible keeps coming back: “You shall not distort justice; you must be impartial. You shall not take bribe; for a bribe blinds the eyes even of the wise and twists the words even of the just; justice and justice alone shall be your aim that you may have life.”
May my God forgive me, but I am resigned to my low batting average when it comes to winning cases.
And so, the mansions and the top-of-the-line vehicles shall remain dreams as shall living in the luxury and in style.
- Atty. EFREN C. CARAG, 4 Lataña St.
Tahanan Village, Parañaque City
