Environmental lawyers are still, well, lawyers

Frankly I do not know what some self-styled environmental lawyers are seeing in a mound of coal ash in Naga that they do not see in the exhaust fumes and floods in Cebu City. But I have my suspicions.

If we are to put things in perspective, I believe the exhaust fumes and constant floods in Cebu City are more harmful to a far greater number of people than a mound of coal ash in the less densely populated town of Naga.

Exhaust fumes from an ever growing number of motor vehicles are choking the people of Cebu City, thanks in large part to the laziness of authorities to implement appropriate laws, and the owners of motor vehicles who have realized they can get away with violations.

Floods, on the other hand, are exposing people to a number of diseases, in addition to causing damage to properties, thanks in large part to the failure of authorities to implement appropriate laws and put in place proper drainage systems.

Yet while the self-styled environmental lawyers have managed to ferret out less than a dozen people who claim (as opposed to presenting solid evidence) to have developed lung or skin diseases in Naga, they missed completely the thousands certainly suffering in Cebu City.

If it is lung or skin disease they want to shore up the charges they have threatened to file against certain officials, they are mysteriously looking for their evidence in the wrong places.

On the other hand, there is wisdom to be gained from the fact that while they have taken on some fancy names like environmental lawyers, at the end of the day they are still the same good old lawyers at heart.

Now, I do not intend that to be an insult or something, especially since I have some very good friends from the profession. All I am saying is that, environmental or not, how far do you think a lawyer will stray from his own self?

Let me put it this way. Threatening or actually suing officials over a mound of coal ash makes more sense, from the point of view of a lawyer, than suing over exhaust fumes and floods.

Let us try putting faces to our spectres. The face that comes to mind when you talk of coal ash is that of a giant power plant. But when you talk of exhaust fumes, the face you see is that of a toothless jeepney driver.

 Now you are a lawyer, for whose face does your heart beat faster? That is why I found it not surprising for other lawyers to close ranks with their new environmental cousins.

 The kindred spirit is simply overpowering. They must take care of their own.

Oh sure, the environment is a cause worth fighting for. There has never been any argument about that. But my contention has always been that no advocacy can soar so high that its feet no longer touches the ground.

We are still subject to the same realities that make us human, with needs that require gratification, thus rendering any esoteric testimonials about spartan lifestyles pathetic in their absurdity.

Even Jose Rizal had a passion for women, with secrets they must have shared in the silence of their nights. But we sweep that under the rug. We force ourselves to see only the fierceness of his nationalism, for which he had to make the ultimate sacrifice.

But Jose Rizal was a hero, who we incidentally need to remember on this day, National Heroes Day. I wonder if we can say the same for those who, while espousing great advocacies, are still vulnerable to great tendencies.