Story-teller

A LAWYER’S FATE AND FAITH
By Antonio Meer Y Malvar
Privately published, not available in bookstores

Significant periods in history become most memorable when recalled through the personal experiences of colorful personages. This is certainly the case in the 499-page autobiography of Antonio Meer.

Until he retired recently, Meer, 79, served as legal counsel for the Cojuangcos, Aranetas, Osmeñas, Madrigals, Palancas and other key figures of the country’s social, political and economic elite in the last half of the 20th century. Described by his colleagues as a "lawyer’s lawyer" with special expertise in public utilities law, he was also a founder of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. along with Ateneo de Manila University buddies Ramon Cojuangco and Tirso Rivilla.

Naturally gregarious and ebullient, Meer, as author, is a great story teller. His recollections of his youth and five decades in the law profession are distinguished by his candidness and bravura. He recalls, for instance, that Sen. Gerry Roxas was so prone to being bullied in his youth; that Sen. Ambrosio Padilla was, for the most part, a brilliant lawyer except when he got pikon; how columnist JV Cruz, Meer’s classmate, wore short pants even until their last year of high school at the Ateneo de Manila; how industrialist Amado Araneta was a certified miser; how the diminutive Carlos P. Romulo was reduced to buying his clothes from the boys department of US stores while serving as Philippine ambassador to Washington.

Living History

Born to a prominent family in Batangas, Meer also shares glimpses of pre-war Philippines. His father, Bibiano, was Collector of Internal Revenue (the equivalent before of the Internal Revenue Commissioner) to three presidents, namely, Manuel Quezon, Manuel Roxas and Elpidio Quirino. As such, the young Tony grew up in a thoroughly "Quezonista" family — meaning one that supported the bombastic Manuel Quezon rather than the more sedate but no less patriotic Sergio Osmeña Sr. as a leader in the fight for Philippine independence.

His mother, Crispina, was a daughter of Philippine hero and Batangueno Gen. Miguel Malvar, one of the leaders of the revolution against Spain. Because of this unique vantage point, Meer’s musings, likewise, include how his mother’s and father’s families were on the opposite side of the political fence in relation to the issue of independence from Spain.

On another plane, Meer’s book is an account of the transition of the Philippines from American satellite to self-governing republic. In the early chapters of the book, his narrative is dominated by the young American Jesuits who taught at the Ateneo de Manila and so captivated the minds, values, and interests of the country’s ruling class.

Consequently, scions of prominent families grew up quoting Aristotle and Robert Frost, singing the American hits of the day, and replicating American school traditions down to parading in woolen military uniforms as they fainted one by one from the heat of the Manila sun.

Among the most vivid parts of Meer’s book is the chapter on the Japanese era which recounts the challenges faced by the populace. As an officer of the US army, Meer had the emotionally-riveting task of having to interview young Filipinas whom the victors of war found completely naked as the Japanese soldiers retreated to mountain lairs to take their last stand. Some of the women had swollen bellies, clear signs of the first stages of pregnancy. The lasses had been kidnapped from the countryside and forced to satisfy the sexual needs of the losing soldiers–on a ratio of one woman to as many as 110 men. The women were kept naked day and night so they would not harbor the thought of escaping. Under such circumstances, writes Meer, "death was the only escape possible and the tragedy (for many of them) was that they survived."

PLDT, Stonehill, And Others

As far as Philippine history and political economy is concerned, nevertheless, Meer’s book is perhaps most valuable because it recounts how PLDT–as we know it today–was founded soon after parity rights expired. As Meer tells it, the founding of PLDT was characterized by the chutzpah of three young men who didn’t know anything about telephony but had the guts and wits to make an offer to the General Telephone Electronics Inc., the 26th largest company in the US at the time, for the controlling shares in PLDT

In the area of jurisprudence, "A Lawyer’s Fate and Faith" is also a great source for short discussions on significant landmark cases, particularly those having to do with taxation. The most controversial one taken up by Meer is that of Harry Stonehill, an American soldier who established and ended up controlling the Philippine tobacco industry in the 1950s. Meer surmises that Stonehill’s wealth helped clinch victory for Diosdado Macapagal in presidential elections in the early 1960s and this accounted for the unorthodox American’s growing influence during that period.

By some quirk of fate, nevertheless, Stonehill was charged with tax evasion and economic sabotage by no less than Macapagal’s Justice Secretary, Jose Diokno. Meer does not explain whether this was a deliberate act of the administration or just a publicity vehicle for the young Diokno gone awry. Stonehill was pilloried by media and painted as an economic thug of the worst category. Congress got into the act and the Stonehill case was elevated into the kind of national circus citizens in the 21st century continue to expect from congressional hearings.

As one of Stonehill’s defense attorneys, Meer makes it clear that his client had a strong case but that he and his colleagues were up against "the whole machinery of government and media who were asking for the blood of our clients… Trial by publicity had fanned public anger… All that was necessary was for the Deportation Board to find them to be persona non grata so that they could be deported. The proceeding was tantamount to an Act of State when the President signed the deportation papers. No judicial remedy was available to thwart…such a proceeding." End of story for Stonehill, who voluntarily left the Philippines upon his lawyers’ advice and who, according to unverified accounts, eventually died a pauper in Spain.

One of Meer’s deepest regrets appears to be the fact that trial by publicity continues to be tolerated and has even been elevated to a tradition by competing media. Occasionally, as in the period following the Oakwood mutiny in July 2003, Meer makes his displeasure of this practice and other issues known by publishing open letters in the newspapers. Having taken pride in his career as a soldier, Meer has also set up a foundation to benefit enlisted men in the field. Handog sa Sundalo Foundation focuses on providing housing, skills training and values formation for loyal soldiers.

Definitely, "A Lawyer’s Fate and Faith" is an engaging book which provides snapshots of important moments in Philippine history. Unfortunately, its author has never meant it to be a commercial venture and it is not carried in bookstores. Copies of the book have been given to friends and volumes have also been earmarked for distribution to key public libraries. Essentially, the work is the memoirs of a private citizen who has lived in interesting times indeed.