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Friday, November 18, 2005
Lee: A woman pioneer of the law
By Kelvin King Lee
Babble On
"Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all." -- Proverbs 31: 29
THINGS are changing. Once upon a time, there were more men studying law and becoming lawyers and even judges. Now the opposite is true. More women are taking up the law, and according to Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., the results of the recent bar examinations show a great increase in the percentage of successful women examinees.
Law schools, where women were once a rarity, must now deal with women as the predominant gender in their august halls. And as of 2004, there are 382 women judges comprising 26% of the total 1,454 judges all over the Philippines. It has become normal for women to practice law where once there were far too few women lawyers. Women are now making their mark in the field of law.
And this would not have happened if several pioneers had not worked hard and opened the doors of law to women. One such pioneer is from Davao City, Judge Virginia Hofileña-Europa, who was one of the first woman judges in Mindanao. Her career in the Judiciary started in 1975 when she became Deputy Clerk of Court at the City Court of Davao. She rose from the ranks and was appointed judge of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities and later on, Regional Trial Court judge.
She is considered one of the most prominent members of the Davao City Judiciary, especially due to her role as a pioneering woman judge. She was even chosen the Mindanao delegate to the Philippine-Australia Judicial Cooperation Project in March 2000. She was also thrust into the spotlight as the judge in the famous Joe Custodio case, as well as her judicial decision to declare the anti-vagrancy law unconstitutional.
A graduate of the Ateneo de Davao University School of Law and a consistent Honor's student, Judge Europa was inspired to become a judge by her husband, topnotch lawyer Cesar Europa, who had encouraged her to use her skills to help others by being a judge. This was in line with the idealism of her youth, when she wanted to help change the society through the law. Her efforts have benefited not just Davao city, but even women, who now know that the field of law is conquerable and that it is not unthinkable to become a woman judge.
As a judge, one has power and responsibilities, Judge Europa would say. However, it is clear that despite all the responsibilities, one can never become rich as a judge. In fact, Judge Europa does not hesitate to say that judges are horribly overworked. In her own case, from the stress and difficulty of her duties, she has developed schemia, which is a medical condition where the passageway to the heart is partially blocked. This does not however deter Judge Europa from forging on in her duties. What is important to her instead, is that "in her own way, she can help community and her fellow men."
On being a woman law practitioner and judge in a field generally dominated by men, Judge Europa downplays the intricacies of the All Boys Club that law once was. She says that society in Davao is not so "macho," as to have caused her difficulties when she was starting out as a lawyer and later on as judge. They welcomed her, she says, and she even goes so far as to say that "we are lucky in Davao because women are accepted." She believes that Filipinos as a whole don't look at gender and that Dabawenyos in particular are very broad-minded. So long as you are capable and have the right perspective and attitude, you are welcomed in the field of law and the judiciary.
Judge Europa is also the founder of Dallas--the Davao Lady Lawyers Association--an association of women lawyers. She encourages women students to take up the study of law. Women now can enter any field, and the study of law in particular, is within their reach. In Davao, legal education is some of the best in the country, with great law schools such as Ateneo de Davao, or even the University of Mindanao. There are good, notable professors in these schools to teach the intricacies of law.
Judge Europa is clearly a strong advocate of women and women's rights, believing greatly in the strength and capabilities of women. She says that women can do a lot: they are good organizers, good providers and good homeowners. Modern women have two roles, that of a home worker and an officer worker. Most men are only officer workers and don't know how to deal with homemaking. Judge Europa believes it is this versatility in women and their capability to compartmentalize, which men do not seem to have, and that makes women such an excellent choice to enter the field of law.
No less than Chief Justice Davide of the Supreme Court agreed with this sentiment in a keynote speech entitled "Women Judges, Catalyst for Judicial Reform," to the Philippine Women Judges Association. In that speech he extolled the virtues of women Judges.
However, there would not have been any women in the field of law at all, much less the judiciary, were it not for the early pioneers such as Judge Europa, who forged the way for others to follow. She is, in truth and in fact, a true pioneer. A Woman Pioneer of the Law.
Email me at babbleoncolumn@yahoo.com
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (November 18, 2005 issue)
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