Shame and scandal in the family

As I observe the griping controversy about narco-politics and exposés regarding the corrupt system of Justice, it is with mockery that I remember a famous song that Trini Lopez sang:

In Trinidad there was a family with much confusion, as you will see.

There was a Mama and a papa and a boy who was grown, he wanted to marry a wife by his own.

He met a young girl who suited him nice; he went to his Papa to ask his advice. His Papa said: Son, I have to say no, that girl is your sister but your Mama don’t know.

Hey, it worry’s me, shame and scandal in the family.

It worries me, shame and scandal in the family.

A week went by, the summer came down.

Soon another girl on the island he found, He went to his Papa to name the day. His Papa shook his head and this time he did say: you can’t marry this girl, I have to say no, that girl is your aunty but your granny don’t know.

Woe is me, shame and scandal in the family.

Hey it worries me, shame and scandal in the family.

Now he went to his Mama, covered his head and told his Mama what his Papa had said.

His Mama laughed, she said: Go, son, Go! Your Daddy ain’t your Daddy, but your Daddy don’t know!!!

*      *      *

You might wonder what the connection is? Well, as far as our justice system is concerned, everyone has a dirty little secret.

All the controversies about attempted payoffs, obstruction of justice, lawyers writing “draft” release orders for signature of the secretary of justice, legal documents or official instruments in the wrong hands or used without authority etc are just some of the dirty little secrets that go on in what we shamelessly call the Philippine justice system.

It is no secret that there have been so many instances when opinions, orders and even decisions have been penned not by ghost writers but victorious lawyers or judicial meddlers intervening on cases that are none of their business.

How else can we explain the numerous instances when lawyers and even members of media learn in advance about the outcome or decisions of judges and justices alike particularly in some of the big cases? The members of the Judiciary can pretend to be innocent or ignorant of these practices, but the fact is we live in a country where justice is not always about truth and fairness. You only have to interview ordinary people who have had the misfortune of having to go to court to discover that many lawyers have conducted themselves shamelessly by advising pay-offs and bribes to insure positive outcomes of cases.

The dark tragedy of our judicial shame and scandal continues because it has become the system. Professional survival dictates that lawyers achieve high batting scores or fall into the abyss or backwaters of LTO offices and city halls making money as notary public. So for those who have invested millions to graduate in the top law schools here and abroad, the end justifies the means.

So they tango with those who have sinned before them, the so-called officers of the courts and the justice system. People whose sins and dark won victories drive them like addicts needing higher hits and bigger doses of power and money. In time, one can no longer tell the user from the pusher of bribes and influence.

The movies about legal eagles may be mythical or based on true stories, but I know of real life characters, powerful lawyers, influential law offices whose alleged legal prowess and brilliance have nothing to do with their knowledge of the law and of being lawyers. They are, for all intents and purpose: influence peddlers.

Since the establishment of the Republic, lawyers and law offices have courted the favor of Presidents and the justice system. I used to wonder why celebrity lawyers would want to be appointed into low paying government positions, why celebrity lawyers ran for elective positions such as Senator. The last five administrations were enough to answer the question.

Many of them enter government and politics not for personal glory or to give back to the people or the Republic. Their vested interest is to influence or directly cause the selection and appointments of “their people” as fiscals/prosecutors, judges, and justices all over the Philippines.

From Marcos, Cory, Ramos, Erap to Arroyo many legal experts have lined-up in false service to the nation, only to establish their own web of Judicial appointees, Law firms who take pride in their acronyms as symbols of power but not about real legal abilities and certainly dubious integrity, lawyer-senators who leverage legislations and budgets for appointments of fiscals/prosecutors, judges and justices.

I remember a celebrity lawyer or “Abogado de Campanilla” who pitched a business project to one of my mentors. The project involved redefining boundaries and overruling the political will and jurisdiction of two cities. With my mentor’s permission, I questioned the legality of the lawyers’ intent and asked how he could even believe his plan to be possible. The guy smiled at me with arrogant confidence and said it could be done with so much ease since they had appointed most if not all of the judges and justices who would end up being involved in the “process”. Needless to say, it was a very short meeting.  

What integrity can people in the justice system speak of if they are bribed yet do not act? Where is justice if the people who expose the bribe end up becoming more like the criminal than the champion? What truth do we speak of when they turn a blind eye to the wrong and immoral laziness of members of the court who take ownership of someone else’s mind, opinion and cause rather than abide by their oath and their code?

There is a documentary on cable TV that features the Medellin Cartel and the battle of US-DEA agents against Pablo Escobar, the most powerful and violent drug lord of Colombia. The cartel killed hundreds of Colombian police officers and killed civilians by terror bombings to force government to deal with them. The government ultimately realized that dealing with Escobar was like holding an alligator by the tail hoping it would eat you last. They finally laid the cartel to rest. Why wait?