Olden people known as lawyers or the orators of ancient Athens may rise from the graves if they know that their profession as exercised these days is full of lies and too proud. Or the Greek philosopher Socrates may haunt those who use his name in the wrong teaching method in law studies. What matters now is a passion for reason that needs to be taught, revealed, and demonstrated by adults and maturing children.
No offense to lawyers, but it is time for many of us to champion the cause of those in need of defense by using any means that the law allows, no more, no less. In other words, if the opportunity demands, anyone can be a defender of the environment, freedom and democracy, human rights and dignity, or truth and life. Anyone can defend the innocent. The list goes on; anyone can be a defender of those who are hungry, thirsty, defamed on social media, unemployed, deprived of work (inagawan ng trabaho at pagtatrabahuhan sa kaso ng West Philippine Sea), without money for hospitalization or bail, and without money to send their children to school, or for high school graduates, without enough means for higher education. It can also happen that a lawyer, who is an officer of the court, can destroy such defense advocacies in various ways. Think about Gadon and other disbarred lawyers.
But there are assured parents and functioning institutions out to raise children who put their trust in God. Sila ang magpupuno ng kakulangan sa pagtatanggol (they will fill the defense gap). There is simply no time for despair — no matter how dismal (“nangungulelat”) the results of the 2018 and 2022 PISA for the Philippines are — because we love what our new day offers and because we love to care.
Alternative or developmental lawyering can be promoted. As often tackled in round table discussions and policy briefs, legal studies can be pursued in high school, undergraduate studies, law school, bar preparations, and related training institutions. I share the astute advice of Raguindin, Faller-Capistrano, and Adiong (2023) in overhauling the current legal education and designing a Bangsamoro-centered curriculum for legal studies. Their other recommendations: make legal language understandable to the public; empower and incentivize the average person to participate in public discussions and policy consultations; provide more spaces for scholars and policy experts; and accommodate and normalize local indigenous worldviews and languages.
“The legal curriculum must be checked for colonial influences. In overhauling the curriculum, both content and pedagogy must be examined.” This was one of the claims of the research team and retold by lawyer-professor Archill Niña Faller-Capistrano in a seminar last week. She cited critical papers here and abroad in a bid to champion legal studies’ development.
My humble observation is that the legal profession has come a long way for both men and women. I look up to the Dioknos and also hope that “angas ng babae” from Leila de Lima or Katrina Legarda will be contagious. A guidebook was introduced in this manner: “Women lawyers have made great strides over the past few decades, but the legal profession, like many other professions, has not dismantled the obstacles that impact women.” There are documents of women being humiliated in the Socratic Method and worse cases for the pregnant. And so, for all of us: Please be guided accordingly.In scriptural readings (e.g., Jeremiah 22:3 and Psalm 82:3-4), we hear the call of the Eternal Judge and that is for all of us, with no particular profession, to act as true defenders. Magtanggol tayong lahat. We also have the duty to pray for lawyers in our midst and help them in taking to heart the performance of their jobs.
