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Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Malilong: At play
By Frank Malilong Jr.
The Other Side
This is one if those few times that you‘d see lawyers playing instead of arguing against each other, Michael Yu’s voice blared over the public address system. The observation had a personal ring to me and I looked around for the colleague with whom I had heatedly argued three days earlier. No, I wasn’t thinking about settling scores, just having fun.
Fun was what the Young Lawyers’ Association of Cebu (YLAC) promised in the first Cebu All-Lawyers Badminton Tournament. And fun was what the fifty or so hardy souls who showed up in various shapes, sizes and ages to compete for the bragging rights to having the most seamless transition from trial to badminton court advocate.
Loose shirts were a favorite. No, the compañeros and compañeras were not making a fashion statement; the oversized shirts were meant to hide middles made abundant by hours of being chair-bound, poring over thick case folders followed by even longer hours in favorite watering holes where you take turns confessing to one another each and everybody else’s sins.
That was how the YLAC came into being, by the way. In 1976, when we were really young lawyers, guys like the late Delfin Quijano Jr., Danny Galuna, Art Fernan, Maning Legaspi, Lando Lim and Sandy Sabitsana would meet every now and then to unwind. During those meetings, we would eventually end up discussing problems we were facing as young practitioners: strict judges, overbearing older colleagues, bungled direct and cross examinations, deadlines and non-paying clients.
Delfin, Danny and Art have since crossed the Great Divide and many of the members of that pioneering YLAC class (we call ourselves in typical grandstanding fashion, the “charter members”) have been slowed down by hypertension, cholesterol and blood sugar problems. None of them showed up at the tournament.
Thus, when I walked to the court for my first game, I felt like a stranger. Kim Castro, John Lood, James Hupp, Talie Inting and Lovella Albina like most of the competitors were young enough to be my children. Jun Parawan was an exception but he wasn’t even in my bracket.
But there must be something about the adrenaline that makes one unconscious of his years because as soon as the action began, I felt as if it was 70s again when we ran the obstacle race at Plaza Independencia and traded baskets with other YLAC members at the UV gym.
During those glorious moments, I was oblivious to Garci and parochial concerns such as the choice between Rules 45 and 65.
By the way, Joseph Tanco and his partner who will remain unnamed went home with the championship trophy.
(August 23, 2005 issue)
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