I wish to congratulate my mentor and senior colleague at the University of the Philippines Cebu, Dr.Rhodora M. Bucoyfor being appointed as chairperson of the Philippine Commission on Women last October 10.Madam Bucoy was my thesis panelist in college and has long been my mentor and guide in the area of human rights and gender equality.
As PCW chairperson, Dr.Bucoy stresses the need to improve the economic status of women because "the face of poverty in our country remains that of a woman's."The PCW's mission is to make policies and to coordinate various concerns on women and gender equality in the country. Why is this mission important? Not many people realize that gender equality and the socio-economic improvement of women, especially women in the rural areas, have a tremendous positive impact on social and economic stability.
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I remember the policeman who asked me a couple of years ago if I was interested in taking clients who were defendants in drug cases. Before I could reply in the negative,he quickly withdrew his suggestion, saying I was too young to be corrupted by such an experience.
Being young is usually associated with idealism or quixotic principles. Even lawyers are not spared from such association. However, what few people understand is that lawyers, young or old, have a job to do notwithstanding their personal beliefs and principles. That job is to make sound arguments for their clients based on the facts that they can prove within the bounds of law and ethics.
I for one may give my client a piece about what I think is morally right and wrong under the circumstances. But I may not deprive them of their right to a fair trial. I must lay down the options available to them under the law, regardless of how I perceive some of them as morally depraved or suffering from some form of psychosis.
I say this in the light of the allegation against Atty. Jonnah John Ungab. His being named in the list of alleged drug protectors is indeed disconcerting because the allegation seems to be merely hinged at this time on the general statement that he represented Kerwin Espinosa in a drug case. The reports are silent about alleged specific acts showing how the lawyer allegedly overstepped his legal and ethical bounds that may get him the label "drug protector."
This is a cause for concern for lawyers because it shows a tendency to arbitrarily lump them together with the perceived notoriety of their clients for merely doing their job. Being called names comes with the territory, but being prosecuted for doing their job does not. Its effects are distracting, if not, chilling.
The legal system sucks, I know, and there are efforts to urgently address the problem. But that is not enough reason to condemn lawyers for defending infamous clients. Better yet, let us not leave fixing the legal system to lawyers, prosecutors, and judges alone. Yes, they have a crucial role in the system, but so are the people in the community.
The legal system has always drawn its validity and effectiveness from the dominant social system where it exists. Laws, both in theory and practice, for the most part merely confirm and support the status quo. And you are the status quo.