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Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Ramos: Why lawyers are 'mayabang'
By Atty. Jenny L. Ramos
Obiter
FOR LGUs (local government units), the last quarter of the year is planning season. I submitted a proposal for legal literacy program through formation of paralegal teams in the barangay level. The objective is to form a paralegal team in each barangay, which has a working knowledge on local governance, citizen's arrest and legal processes, skills in documentation and affidavit making. One of the goals is to empower a group of people in the grassroots level to respond to legal needs of the barangay without depending too much on lawyers. Another is to increase peoples' participation by informing them of their rights and the venues of participation available to them under the Local Government Code.
While preparing for my "defense" of the project before the Planning Office and the other department heads, my thoughts strayed to the negative perception of lawyers as mayabang.
When I was in college, I would see law students (the maroon hardbound books gave them away) walking in the campus with an aura of confidence about them. Some say they look mayabang. When I myself became a law student, I realized why they are perceived as mayabang-the law students and lawyers-they know their rights.
My law student intern last summer had this anecdote about her classmate. The classmate was riding a jeepney. Halfway to her destination, she was the only passenger left so the driver asked her to get down and take another jeep. He would just return her fare in full. Hell broke loose.
She threatened to report the driver to the LTO. She argued that a contract of carriage has been perfected. In fact she already paid her fare, so the driver is obligated to fulfill his obligation of driving all the way to her destination. The jeepney driver ended up doing just that.
But a classic example of empowerment through legal literacy is my experience with an organized fisherfolk community in Lanao del Norte. When we first visited them for community consultation, one of their concerns was illegal fishing. Unabated, because of indifferent law enforcers and inactive Bantay Dagat. Even their fish sanctuaries are not spared.
When asked if they are willing to arrest the illegal fishers themselves, they answered a resounding no. They would rather that the law enforcement officers do their job. They asked us instead how they can pressure the latter to monitor and conduct arrests.
They fear violent retaliation from illegal fishers. Moreover, the latter are known to carry high-powered guns when they go fishing. Even Muslim members of the organization are afraid of their fellow Muslims who are into illegal fishing citing incidents of redo. A local term for vendetta, where an entire Muslim clan stands behind an offended family member ready to fight to death.
They have been receiving threats already when all they have been doing so far was complain to the barangay and the mayor. How much more if they start arresting illegal fishers. It was a very valid concern, so we didn't push it.
The result of their training needs assessment however showed that the majority wants a topic on arrest, search and seizure to be included in their paralegal training. Barely two months after the training, the community organizer started calling us for legal assistance. The fisherfolks arrested a crew of illegal fishers on a fishing vessel owned and operated by a PNP officer. After that, there was no stopping them. They started monitoring and apprehending illegal fishers regularly.
When asked why they were suddenly conducting citizen's arrest and filing complaints contrary to their hands-off policy, they replied that the paralegal training gave them confidence. They know that they have a right to arrest criminals under citizen's arrest. On top of that, they became familiar with criminal procedure. They know they are acting within the bounds of law.
That was one of the highlights of my NGO career. I actually saw a cowering fisherfolk community transformed into an empowered lot. To borrow Ernie Baron's by-line, (legal) knowledege is power. But of course, the community didn't live happily ever after. It was not the end. It was a beginning. More challenges await them.
These are some empowering experiences of non-lawyers. And in this side of the planet where people are shy in asserting their rights, doing so might be mistaken for kayabangan. But, there are really mayabang lawyers. Some are congenitally mayabang in fact. But then again, kayabangan is not endemic to lawyers. They may have a monopoly of the law, but they don't have a monopoly of kayabangan.
(November 24, 2004 issue)
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