Thursday, August 19, 2004 Speak out: Falsely perceived power By Vicente E. Fernandez II
(The letter is addressed to Frank Malilong Jr.)
The point in your column last August 15 that, “the use of harsh and intemperate language,” like a vice, should be avoided has always been my norm of conduct. I have never cast aspersion on anyone, either as a private citizen or as a lawyer.
But when one represents another as a lawyer, he is not free to substitute his own words for that of his client and his witnesses. The most that he can do, and which I did in the case of Prosecutor Mary Ann Castro, was to mitigate the best he could the personal perception of the client and his witnesses.
I have nothing personal with Castro. To me, she is just like any government employee. Nothing in her that shines blind me, either in her favor or against her.
Admittedly, she is pretty, but that is where the problem lies. If the words of Victor Hugo are of any help, “It is God who makes a woman beautiful; it is the devil who makes her pretty.”
In my memory, there is no prosecutor, man or woman, living or dead, who has given the honorable office of the city prosecutor nightmares in relation to highly questionable activities, as reported in the local dailies. And the unsavory incidents came in rapid succession.
This demonstrates the perceived power that Castro holds. After the first or second case, she should have reined in her activities, whether right or wrong, as a public official.
In this regard, United States President Abraham Lincoln has a ready answer: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character give him power.”
A falsely perceived power behind her office must have driven Castro to her present behavior. It is about time she realizes that a public office is a public trust. She should know that her office enjoins her to do right and never to do wrong.
She should change now. Tomorrow might be too late.
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