Living up to higher standards

Writing something good about the law profession — my profession — is admittedly a difficult task. It is supposed to be a noble profession, as it is one of the pillars in the administration and dispensation of justice. In fact many want to be a lawyer including a 78- year old plumber who just finished college. Unfortunately, its overall reputation and public image is, to put it mildly,   still “not that good”.

Our fellow companeros and companeras must seriously address this image problem. It cannot be solved overnight and requires a lot of self examination and admission that something is really amiss in our practice of law.

Indeed, readily noticeable in the present law practice is its focus on the external aspects of justice that mainly involves the “conformity of man’s acts and conducts to the rules and methods laid down by the governing powers”. This aspect is actually the object of jurisprudence or the science of giving a wise interpretation to said rules and making a just application of them in all cases as they arise.

Well and good; except that, as Justice Felix Frankfurter says, “To some lawyers, all facts are created equal”, like this young attorney who finished his summation with the following statement: “And if it please the court, if I am wrong in this, I have another argument that is equally conclusive”. Hence it usually happens that the interpretation of the law may not be wise and its application may not be just.

Lawyers should thus give as much importance and attention to another aspect of Justice. This is the internal aspect that involves the conformity of man’s will, not of man’s act, to “the broader and all embracing law that treats of what is right and what is wrong, and distinguishes what is good from what is evil. This aspect of Justice is the object of morality. Justice in this sense is a virtue consisting of the constant practice of giving every man what is his own or what is his due.

In the practice of law therefore, lawyers must always bear in mind that what is externally just may still be internally unjust; what is legal is not necessarily moral. “Justice does not consist exclusively of our exact respect for rights and duties as in the case of arithmetical problems that are solved simply by addition or subtraction” as Saint Josemaria Escriva put it.

Undoubtedly, public confidence in the law profession in this country is quite low. But this is not the fault of most lawyers. Like apples in a basket, there are always rotten ones. This is true in any profession or organization. Lawyers recognize this problem so they decided to organize themselves. But the problem persists because so many Bar Associations sprouted all over the country. Hence on June 23, 1962, representatives of 53 bar associations convened and agreed to file a petition with the Supreme Court for the integration of the Bar. Atty. Jose W. Diokno, a top notch practitioner, was designated to file the corresponding petition with the Supreme Court (SC).

The petition remained pending in the SC and started moving again only in 1970 when Diokno who was then already a Senator, introduced Senate Bill 79 seeking to empower the SC to integrate the Philippine Bar. Finally on September 17, 1971, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines was created by virtue of Republic Act 6397. Then on January 9, 1973, the SC ordered the integration of the Philippine Bar and promulgated the corresponding rules for Bar integration effective January 16, 1973. Formal operations of the IBP started on March 25, 1973 following the convening of the House of Delegates that elected its officers on March 17, 1973. Then on May 4, 1973, the IBP was constituted as a corporate body vested with all the powers of a private corporation by virtue of PD 1811.

The IBP has 13 specific mandates and objectives as outlined in the SC resolution. These are summarized – by Executive Vice President and President elect Roan I. Libarios into: (1) improving the standards of the legal profession through continuing proper education and training and strict enforcement of the Code of Professional Responsibility; (2) promoting the administration of justice through competence and integrity in the performance of their job as officers of the court; (3) discharging its public responsibility more effectively by promoting respect for the Rule of Law and broadening access to justice through legal aid services and education of the people on their legal rights and obligations and on the importance of preventive legal advice.

On April 7-9, 2011, the IBP will hold its 13th National Convention at the Subic Bay Convention Center with the appropriate and timely theme of “Living Up to the Standards of Integrity and Competence in the Legal Profession”. The occasion will be graced by the two highest ranking IBP members now in public office: Vice President Jejomar Binay, the guest of honor and keynote speaker who will deliver his address on April 7, 2011 and Chief Justice Renato Corona who will give his message on April 8, 2011.

Other speakers who will give enlightening presentations on timely legal issues and trends are: Senator Francis Escudero, Rep. Neri Colemenares, SC Associate Justices Roberto Abad and Ma. Lourdes Sereno, Retired SC Associate Justice Vicente Mendoza, Associate CA Justice Magdangal de Leon, DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima, Court Administrator Midas Marquez and Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz. Also slated to speak are legal luminaries from private practice and the academe particularly former Senator Aquilino Pimentel, Dean Raul Pangalangan, Prof. Myrna Feliciano.

Welcoming the biggest number of convention delegates in IBP’s 38 year history are Olongapo City Mayor James Gordon, Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and Representative Mila Magsaysay of the First District. This year’s convention is right in the middle of Central Luzon, inside the bustling economic zone known as Subic with all its world class amenities. So it will be spiced up with fellowship and other fun filled activities for the delegates and their families. So, see you all there, companeras y companeros.