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Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Malilong: Old and young
By Frank Malilong
The Other Side
We did not have, I must confess, what you would call lofty beginnings. We were a loose association, mostly belonging to Class ‘74 and all under 40. We went out together at least twice a week to unwind. It was in one of those gatherings at our favorite watering hole where, over bottles of beer and in plain view of sartorially-challenged girls gyrating on a makeshift platform that we discovered the inspiration to formally organize and make ourselves more useful.
That meant, first, taking care of ourselves, new inductees to the bar. Many of us felt that some of our older colleagues have taken to bullying us in order to mask their own inadequacy. We agreed to share our experiences and learn from each other as we struggled to build our careers.
Those were the days of martial law and while we did not consciously strive to build an anti-Marcos image, we managed to sponsor activities to encourage dissent and the freedom of expression. Former Sen. Jovito Salonga spoke in Cebu for the first time, after he was released from detention, upon our invitation. We spotted military agents monitoring the affair but that did not dampen our reception to the fiery senator’s damning condemnation of Marcos and martial rule.
Today, the Young Lawyers Association of Cebu (YLAC) is a quarter of a century old. So many things have passed since that evening at the beer joint. Along the way, the association found a conscience.
Some of our founding members have since joined the Great Divide (St. Peter must be grateful to YLAC for boosting the lawyer population in his turf). The rest are showing signs of wear and tear: back pains, aching joints, receding hairlines, bulging middles and hypertension, among others. But if even if many of us are approaching 60, we still continue to call ourselves young lawyers. Letting go is hard to do, to bastardize a song.
The idea was to limit membership to lawyers below 40 years old. That’s what the old By-Laws said. But when little by little we started “graduating” (I was the last to cross the age limit, I`m proud to announce), the pioneering members began to fret and not long thereafter, the rules were amended to accommodate “honorary members”.
Tonight when we gather for our silver anniversary, you will see the likes of Mike Rama, Ading Seno, Brogs Dalman, Lando Lim, Maning Legaspi, Art Fernan, Tim Adaza and Ronnie Catipay hobnobbing with colleagues who are as young as their sons (YLAC is not only the oldest club hereabouts, it is also the last chauvinist bastion).
I won’t be surprised if in the room full of the sweetness of Armani, Hugo Boss and Lacoste, the waft of Bengay or Omega pain killer would waft in the air. I mean no irony here because there is none but at 25, YLAC is an old association of young lawyers.
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There are people you hate so passionately that you wish them ill. I must confess to entertaining at times such dark thoughts as fervently wishing someone’s death and promising to offer thanksgiving mass in that event. In the end, however, you realize that the exercise is counterproductive. You cannot allow your hatred to overcome you. Besides, it is bad for the heart.
I offer this advice especially to those in public office. It is natural to get angry when you are unfairly attacked by people in media who have an agenda other than serving the public interest. Being unfairly attacked is however part of the territory. Just ignore it.
(December 8, 2004 issue)
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