How much of me am I willing to reveal? How much do you want me to?

Adieu to UP Law (for now...)

I'm not totally closing my doors on law school just yet. It's just my shortterm goals of saving up and being able to see my career in the job I'm currently holding flourish are overtaking my dream (if it ever really is a dream) of pursuing law. Somehow I knew I enjoyed applying all the things I've learned or at least knowing that I was able to apply what I've learned if most especially for the reason that I knew I made it to one of the remaining revered legal institutions in the country that is the University of the Philippines College of Law.

Like I said, it's not over yet. It's also not to say that I never really made it through because I "quit". But for now, I know I have to really bid adieu...

Of discrimination and ethics

1,975 OFWs ASK SUPREME COURT TO RENDER DECISION ON THEIR PETITION BEFORE RETIREMENT OF CHIEF JUSTICE PANGANIBAN

By MOMOY CARDENAS

The leaders of the 1,975 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and awardees in the decision promulgated on Dec.3, 2002 by the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) appealed yesterday to the Supreme Court, First Division, to render final decision in G.R. No. 168923, entitled Bienvenido M. Cadalin, et al., vs. Court of Appeals, et al, even as they reiterated that the defendant Kellog-Brown and Root had expressed willingness to pay immediately after a favorable Supreme Court decision.

In the last motion to admit additional submission on May 8, 2006, the petitioners stressed the conclusive admission of their American employer, the Kellog-Brown and Root thru their lawyers, the Godwin-Gruber law firm based in Dallas, Texas, U.S.A., that the said employer will certainly abide by the final decision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines regarding this matter, among other admissions in the various documents attached to said motion submitted to the Supreme Court.

We consider the affirmation by the Supreme Court of our previous NLRC December 3, 2002 victory as an early Christmas gift before the retirement on Dec. 7, 2006 of Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban. whom we acknowledge as a model public servant and a world champion of human and economic rights, honor and dignity of the Filipino people, said the 1,975 OFWs.

In their last letters in Pilipino entitled "Huling Liham and Panawagan" personally delivered to Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban on Nov. 28 and 29, 2006, respectively, more than 100 OFWs expressed their gratitude for the grant of due course resolution last June 07, 2006 issued by the Supreme Court.

The twin letters were signed by petitioners Claudio A. Modesto, Jr., Antonio C. Yabut, Arturo A. Poblete, the wives of Rodolfo C. Mana, Domingo O. Villahermosa, Pedro C. Constantino, Olegario B. Francisco, Numeriano San Mateo, Artemio Basmayor, Romulo Balbieran, Edgardo H. Romales and many others.

The long, tortuous journey for the past 22 years - from 1984 to 2006 - to secure justice and compensation for all the marginalized and poor 1,975 OFWs and similarly situated workers has now reached the final race. The OFWs, billed as the modern-day heroes or Bagong Bayani due to their supreme sacrifices to fight poverty in foreign lands for their families and the country to earn the precious foreign exchange remittances to lift Philippine economy, have found salvation through the twin beacons of Liberty and Prosperity, the last book authored by Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban.

Court records showed that the NLRC has awarded more than US$609 million in back wages, damages, discrimination pay, hazard pay, retirement pay, plus 12 percent interest payments, among other awarded money claims. The 2,123 OFWs were hired and employed by Brown & Root International, Inc. (now Kellog-Brown and Root) in their overseas projects in the Middle East, like Bahrain and United Arab Emirates from 1976 to the 1990s. Many of them worked also in Vietnam during the war between North and South Vietnam in the 1960s before their overseas employment in Bahrain and the U.A.E.

Kellog-Brown and Root is an associated company of the Halliburton Group of Companies based in Houston, Texas, USA, the multinational giant where Vice President Richard "Dick" Cheney was the chief executive officer (CEO) for five years. Public records showed that Cheney received at least US$30 million retirement pay and other stock options when he retired from Halliburton Group.

In their petition filed on August 3, 2006, which was given due course by the Supreme Court, the impleaded petitioners assailed the previous decision and resolution of the Court of Appeals which both reversed and set aside the NLRC Decision of December 03, 2002 granting the US$609 million plus awards to all the 1,975 OFWs and awardees.

The said NLRC decision became final and executory judgment when the private respondents/employers grossly failed to comply with the jurisdictional requirements for the perfection of appeal and the posting of supersedeas bond of the actual awards granted by the NLRC.

The modern-day heroes and petitioners argued in their many pleadings, thru their lawyer Gerardo del Mundo, that the Supreme Court shall be the ultimate protectors of all OFWs in dangerous countries of employment, particularly in war-torn country of Iraq, by the promulgation of precedents on hazard pay, equal pay, discrimination pay, moral and exemplary damages among other safety nets against terrorism and suicide bombings which killed tens of thousands in Iraq.

Kellog-Brown and Root employs, at present, 7,000 OFWs in various military camps in Iraq like Camp Victory, Camp Glory, Camp Dragon and Camp Cooke, the last being the employment site where more than 300 OFWs and 500 Sri Lankans, Indians and other nationalities, went on mass strike last May 2005 due to very poor living and working conditions.

#########################

And so goes my dad's article due for release tomorrow in the Manila Bulletin. But what this article doesn't state are the actions of Kellog, Brown and Root's Filipino lawyers representing them in the Philippines. For the 22 years that the aforementioned case have been lodged in Philippine courts for charges of discrimination and abuse, the actuations of the Romulo-Magbanta law firm in stopping Kellog, Brown and Root from finally releasing the cost for damages indeed need to be cast with a doubtful and suspicious eye.

For why would a law firm, or its representative lawyers for that matter, stop its client from its willingness to settle its criminal and civil obligations? Could it possibly be surmised that these lawyers are still acting within the ambit of the Code of Professional Responsibility that states that lawyers should defend the best interests of their clients? Or do we smell the end for the millions of dollars worth of retainer's fee these lawyers have been receiving for more than two decades from Kellog, Brown and Root?

Tsk. Tsk. To think that they, themselves, are Filipinos. I just wish that they would come clean with a convincing justification with regard to their questionable acts, as, after all, before I scream in utter disillusion over my legal ethics cases, I still would like to very much believe that these lawyers, in the discharge of their duties, could still be afforded the privilege of the benefit of the doubt.

Big, big dreams

Grade school classmate Fatima, my ever-righteous and favorite intellectual chat buddy who never fails to feed my ego by pumping a lethal combination of inspiration, encouragement, sarcasm and all that smugness into my being, got me going again for the kill.

Of course the staple part of our conversation was making fun of earthworms. Go figure. But what I most love about Fatsi is her ultimate capability of being able to match my idealistic philosophies, that one particular thing serving as the best dessert to cap off our regular talks.

_____

fmdcm3: ang galing nga! just in time!! apparently, they were just waiting for us to graduate!
Precious: *nods* *nods* *nods*
Precious: we have great destinies waiting for us!
fmdcm3: hehe!
fmdcm3: it's happening now.
Precious: it's fascinating how both of us share the belief that great things are in store for people like us
fmdcm3: of course we do! that's partly why great things happen to people like us. we believe.
Precious: so many people ask me na super torture ang mga ginagawa natin
Precious: sabi ko
Precious: while the rest of earthworms are working and partying their time away, us, we're able to do that PLUS we still have time
Precious: to learn and discover great things!
Precious: in short we do more!
fmdcm3: HAHAHA!
Precious: we accomplish more!
fmdcm3: you're harsh on the earthworms! hehe
Precious: harharhar
Precious: we're normal human beings who lead an extraordinary life!

fmdcm3: I wish we'd meet in Europe too. That would be great!
Precious: yeah!
Precious: my target though now is Manhattan, to walk the streets of Manhattan then work as a corporate lawyer for Citigroup Main HQ in NYC! I now work for Citigroup local for the Australian account as credit analyst
Precious: and do a parttime job for the UN HQ also in NYC as an int'l human rights lawyer
fmdcm3: wow!
fmdcm3: me, I'll always be a research scientist.
Precious: tapos i'd jet set to Europe just to have coffee with an old dear friend who goes by the name and title Dr. Fatima Monteverde
fmdcm3: haha! I'll visit you in your cities too! from june to august, Swedish days are supposed to last 20 hours. let's see that.
Precious: our big dreams *sigh*
Precious: but i do trust our abilities and willpower to be able to do just that
fmdcm3: Of course we will!
fmdcm3: mas gusto mo ng city life no?
Precious: yeah
Precious: but i won't mind a suburban life too
fmdcm3: Ako, mahal ko ang Los Baños setting.hehe
Precious:
Precious: for career, yeah city lie
Precious: life
Precious: but for family life
Precious: a suburb setting is just fine for me
fmdcm3: ok. for me, the city is only good for shopping! hehe
Precious: hehe that too!
Precious: i love walking the streets of ayala wearing trenchcoats and heels especially in the afternoon and seeing the lights at night
fmdcm3: That I'll want to try in Europe!
Precious: London!
Precious: Amsterdam!
fmdcm3: Haha!
fmdcm3: I'd be near Stockholm!

_____

Hehe. I guess I need not say anything more. ;)

(FATIMA MIA MONTEVERDE, my grade school classmate in Canossa School-Santa Rosa, graduated with a degree in Biology, "Magna Cum Laude", from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños. She's set to leave for Sweden come January next year to start her work as a research fellow for the Marie Curie Institute.)

Giving myself a pat on the back

Hard work and sacrifice? These definitely pay! Seemingly endless nights of migraine attacks, multi-tasking (talk about memorizing law provisions, facts from cases and company process all at the same time!), coffee and tea for that ultimate caffeine fix and lack of sleep are nothing in comparison to being able to confidently volunteer to recite in one of the feared subjects in law school (Obligations and Contracts) and afterwards get the feeling that you've done well.

I just hope and pray that tonight won't be the last; that what happened tonight may just really spell the encouragement I so badly need in order to justify my stay in UP Law.

Tips to survive law school

1. Uminom ng Pepsi Max kung sawa na sa kape.

2. De-stress every 30 minutes with a headbanger song.

3. Avoid bed romps (hehe). The after-effect beats the purpose of keeping yourself awake.

4. Take Extra Joss and Glutaphos. So what if these do not work? At least you've conditioned your mind that these work so these should really work.

5. Huwag na huwag makikinig sa senti songs unless you want your thoughts to wander in the middle of trying to grasp the ideas behind uber-difficult cases and readings.

6. Take advantage of the free wifi at the law library but make sure that you did not take with you your laptop adaptor so dalawang oras ka lang magbababad sa internet, pretending you are searching for cases online when in fact, you are happily chatting away, hiding behind alternicks in PinoyExchange and updating your blog on Friendster.

7. Reading while in a moving vehicle is supposed to be bad for your eyes but when every second counts, especially when you're riding the MRT and you happen to be standing, master the art of embracing the steel (iron?) bar with one arm and supporting your book/readings on the other. And if I may add, please, with poise. You're supposed to look dignified when you're a law student.

_____________________________

From Dean Agabin: Three professionals, a lawyer, a doctor and a priest were shipwrecked and as were thus, stuck in an island. The mainland is not that far from the island so the three just decided to brave the shark-infested sea and swim for it. The priest tried it out first. After a few meters, he was, unfortunately gobbled up by the shark. The doctor suffered the same fate. However, when it was already the lawyer's turn, he was able to make it to the mainland alive. When the shark was interviewed on why it didn't eat the lawyer, it was quoted as saying, "Oh, that's professional courtesy." =p

Three

Never thought this one would apply to me until I got to law school <haahaa>:

I think that I shall never see
A grade as lovely as a three
A three that’s earned with blood and sweat
When failing is a serious threat
A three I’ve asked for God all day
Knowing praying is the only way
Exams are taken by fools like me,
But only God can give a three

When it is truly criminal:

"No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted"

(**thanks Doc D for reminding me of crim and three)

Cardenas et al vs. Makati Fire Department

And to think I detest our otherwise cutie and charming Criminal Law 1 prof for rounding off my final grade of 4.02 to 5.0.

While gritting my teeth and exerting all the super mind work strength so my knees would not give in to the pressure of gravity, the members of the Makati Fire Department were downstairs, ignoramuses over basic earthquake saving procedures.

Officemates Thet and Tina were right. We're nearer the rooftop, we should have been instead asked to go up than go down. Remember the World Trade Center bombing? The survivors were mostly from the uppermost floors.

Oh well. Now I wonder what the middle floor tenants should do. Go up? Or go down? Haha.

I could barely walk. I lost a whole day's work, not to mention the pay and appointments. And it's not just my stilettos to blame for my strained leg muscles (Hey it's not just me, even those wearing flat shoes suffered the same).

So, should I file charges against the members of the Makati Fire Department who never even gave a 10 minute's worth of lecture over what they made us do? Hmm... <browsing the Revised Penal Code Book 1> Reckless imprudence resulting to minor physical injuries should do the trick. =)

UP Law vs. Arellano Law et al

The issue brought to the august halls of this Tribunal is whether or not torn freshmen who want a "better" life in terms of balancing life, school, love (kahit wag na lang un), and career, of UP Law should transfer to Arellano Law whose academic curriculum is, according to the great words of Madame Justice Ma. Aiza "Maan" Sumpo, "pro-working student".

The substantive issues are the following:

Private petitioner Madame Justice Ma. Preciosa Cardenas applied for the position of full-time trainer at HSBC in Makati. She was willing to have a shifting schedule, provided that, if possible, the schedule of her 6-9 PM law classes in UP would not be affected including an hour's worth of travelling time henceforth hoping for a 5-10 PM unaffected time.

Fully knowing that that particular set-up might not work, she conditioned her mind for what the interviewer would say:

I: Give a brief presentation of yourself according to your resume.

P: Well, I'm originally from Laguna and everyday, for six days a week, I go back and forth from there to Quezon City, specifically in UP, where I study law.

I: I see. I've noticed that in your resume, most of the jobs you have listed in your resume are parttime. In terms of commitment, since the company demands exclusivity, would you be willing to sacrifice some of these for us?

P: Definitely. As what has been stated in my resume, most of the jobs I have right now are parttime output or project-based and so I have the option and privilege of refusing a project if it would be in conflict with my schedule. I was just hoping that, if possible, since I am also a first year law student with a 6-9 PM schedule, M-F, that this the time between 5-10 PM in my schedule would not be affected.

I: But you see Ms. Cardenas, of course, I don't want us to be wasting each other's time (OUCH!) so I'd be very straight. First of all, our training schedule's 8:30 PM to 5:30 AM. I can see, judging from your resume, you are very qualified for the position, however, the company couldn't be investing big money in you until you fix your priorities. So I will be placing your resume in an active file. If you've decided what you really want, you could just give us a call and we'd be happy to have you with us in HSBC.

P: (withholding her tears not because of the outright rejection even before she could give a demo-teaching but because of the "priorities" issue) I fully understand ma'am. I do. It's very much okay ma'am. Anyway, I really have no choice since the working class in UP Diliman are only given a single option for class schedule. Thank you so much for your time.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Private petitioner Cardenas has locus standi. She, just like everyone else in her class, are struggling to balance work and studies while at the same time checking every now and then if what is left of their salaries after photocopying cases worth as much as P200/day for a single subject is enough to afford them a decent living.

Circumstantial evidence would prove that Cardenas, just like some of her classmates, need additional, if not, better-paying jobs to help support themselves all the way through five years of law school and at the same time, help with household, domestic, nevermind "personal" (translation: lovelife expenses), expenses.

And so she is presented the following solutions:

a. continue UP law and pray to all the saints that there is a better-paying job that would suit her qualifications and not be in conflict with her classes

b. drop UP law, accept the HSBC job offer, take the LAE again after two years or more of saving and wallow in misery while her batchmates are already doing their OLA practicum

c. drop UP law, enroll next year in Arellano Law and accept the HSBC job offer

Just a brief presentation of facts. Arellano Law School charges P1400/unit. UP Law, P300/unit. It has an executive program of law classes on weekends, eight hours a day (four subjects). HSBC's salary for accent trainers is P40,000/month.

Private petitioner prays for relief and presentation of separate concurring and dissenting opinions from her colleagues in this noble Tribunal.

UP Law Freshman: Burnt Out But Not Bailing Out

Once upon a time there was a girl who grew up too fast.

While her grade school classmates were playing pranks on each other,
her biggest problem was how to get a medal come recognition day so
she could make her parents proud. While her friends were using the
payphone to call up their sundo, she was calling her mom to give her
some tips on how to win an extemporaneous speaking contest.

When she became mayor of their high school student government, she
somehow knew and had to admit to herself that she was being more
unreasonable and more strict than the guidance counselor for not
letting in the campus a student who wore a spaghetti strap to the
school's acquaintance party.

And she's an only child.

The downpour during that UPCAT weekend seemed to join her as she
cried in the backseat of their car for leaving blank four questions
she did not know how to answer. For six months after the UPCAT, her
father believed she did not pass the exam. But she did. She had never
seen her father so happy.

Graduation Day. She could've sworn her medals weighed at least two
kilos. She had more medals than the valedictorian and the
salutatorian. And she's just a fourth honorable mention. She felt
that despite everything, she knew she failed her dad's expectations
of her.

She entered UP Diliman with every expectation that she could just be
like her first love. He was a UPLB University Scholar. Why couldn't
she? He only came to as high as being the 3rd District Junior Board
Member and San Pablo City Junior Mayor. She went on to become
Laguna's Junior Vice Governor.

GWA: 1.8. No. She wouldn't be joining her blockmates even on the
College Scholar list. And even after having a 1.5 GWA the next sem,
her total GWA for the two sems weren't even enough to provide her a
slot in Broadcast Communication. She's stuck in Speech Communication.
Not that she's complaining. The course was the mother of all
communication courses. But again, she knew her father was once again
disappointed.

A fellow UPCAT passer from her high school inquired if the rumors
were true that she was pregnant. She was flabbergasted. God she
didn't even have a boyfriend! She broke up with her last boyfriend
for two-timing her with someone who's more than willing to have sex
with him. She won't let her batchmates' snide remarks pull her down.

Her first college family was Chalk Magazine. She was an Official
Student Correspondent for UP Diliman. Chalk Magazine. ABS-CBN. The
name was enough for connections to start springing from everywhere.
That was her stepping stone to everything she became in the next
three years of her college life.

She loved the limelight. Until the limelight closed its doors on her.

For four months her family suffered bankruptcy. And to think she's an
only child. There were no other mouths to feed. Her parents refused
to have their house in Laguna rented out. They thought occupants
would just ruin the place. Case closed. But how were they going to be
able to pay for their apartment in Ortigas? Her father's boss just
lost the elections and her father was left without a stable job.
Though she trusted her father's ability to make the best out of the
worst (he was an orphan with ten siblings and he managed to send
himself and some of his siblings to school - a reason why this
author wouldn't give alms to nine-year old beggars) since he still
had his freelance job as a trusted senior media correspondent for
Manila Bulletin, it still didn't follow how he would be able to pay
for their rent, their electric and phone bills, gas, drinking water,
water supply, repair of their computer, television and refrigerator,
and send her to school.

She was bored. But she had summer classes from 7 AM to 11:30 AM and a
summer job at Speechpower from 1 PM to 8:30 PM in España. And she had
her karaoke, rather, her family's karaoke inside her room to stir her
to sleep.

They were able to get by. One day at a time. She didn't know how her
father managed to pull it off but eventually things came back to
normal. First the refrigerator, then a new television for her mom,
the old television repaired, a second hand computer that was
eventually replaced by a new one....Things really did came back to
normal....or so she thought.

A year after, friends and business clients inquired why her mom
suddenly looked so frail and weak. She mentioned that her mom went
through so much. But that she's just not the type who would go out
with friends.

And yes. The limelight indeed closed its doors on her. The spotlight
was on her mom. Inside the CT Scan. And then inside the MRI tunnel.
The tears just kep't on falling. She didn't want to look at her dad
who was just in one corner of Medical City, a very expensive hospital
but the nearest from their apartment, his head bowed. She didn't want
to know if his head was bowed because he was just tired and without
sleep or if he was thinking where he would get the money to pay for
the bills just so my mom would get well...No he was not thinking of
the bills...he was thinking of his wife. The girl saw from her very
own eyes how worried he was, how he didn't think when he instructed
the cab driver to take them to Medical City, again, a very expensive
hospital where an overnight stay in the ER would cost someone a
whopping P10,000 already. The girl saw her father's genuine concern
and love. Yes, love. Despite having the frailties of an ordinary
married man who was without a child for the first 13 years of his
marriage to a woman who's five years older than him. But that was
another story.

It was a baptism of fire. The girl didn't know what dementia means.
Her brain just wouldn't accept a single word that the snooty
neurologist was saying about how her mom's brain was decreasing in
size because of the series of small strokes that she had unnoticeably
suffered the past two years....

Two years...that included those four months of bankruptcy...She had
only cared for herself during that time...She had only cared how she
could escape boredom so most of her 24 hours were spent outside their
gloomy apartment...Where her mom stayed, patiently waiting for their
arrival from work and school...

All of a sudden, her father was telling her things that implied
responsibility - responsibility that she knew she really wasn't
prepared for no matter how tough her facade seemed to look like.
Things came too fast. But what could she do? Her father depended on
her to help him.

Sometimes, okay, most of the time, she's guilty of taking it all out
on her mom. But she's breaking deep inside and almost always ready to
fight it out with anyone who would insult her mom and call her
mom "matandang ulyanin". She almost always ready to preach to anyone
that sufferers of dementia are not insane.

And though in law school the Civil Code mentioned dementia as under
insanity, she's still ready to fight for her mom.

Why is she in law school? For her dad..Again once upon a time she
also dreamt of becoming a lawyer. Even her high school yearbook
described her as someone who would eventually become a lawyer-
broadcast journalist someday.

But then a few months into the UP Law Aptitude Exam (LAE), she bailed
out. She knew she had a career in media. Hell she was already in ABS-
CBN. Law school's a jealous mistress. And media as partner just
wouldn't do. Furthermore, she knew it was no more than a childhood
dream to fantasize about becoming a femme fatale in power clothes
with powerful, intimidating words in court.

Then again her dad, during those last two weeks before the exam,
asked her to take the exam; that he would pay for her review if he
had to; that he would support her all the way to law school. She knew
both her parents were frustrated lawyers. Stricken by poverty, they
knew they had to drop the legal and regal dream. Her father even
warned her, many times over, that if she wanted to finish law school,
she should not get married until she becomes a lawyer (he was already
married to her mom when he took his first year, first semester at
MLQU...for financial reasons, he had to drop out).

She doesn't believe in fate but it seems to keep on intervening. Last
two weeks. How the hell was she going to review for the LAE? All of
the posters advertising LAE were already through with their reviews.
She was ready to give up when she tried the very last poster. A one-
day review with a three-inch thick reading and practice materials.
She brushed up on her philosophy and math. She literally read the
dictionary. All of it. She did with hopes of not failing her father
again. She took the LAE with thought of not disappointing him again.
Not ever again.

When she passed, her father's lawyer colleague who graduated from UP
Law told her father that it must be fate. Think: "Many are called.
But few are chosen."

Like many of those law students with her, she knew she had a lot to
give up. She started college life with dreams of entering the world
of mediated communications. In law school, she just had to accept the
lifestyle of non-mediated communications.

While her fresh graduate batchmates were slowly inching their way up
to becoming a broadcast journalist and television and radio
commentators, she was working in call center, a job she used to
detest but eventually learned how to sincerely appreciate and love
especially when she knew it was one of those that permitted her to
nurture her law studies. Surely, the media was not one of it.

She was eventually shoved into the world of politics - an
omnipresent entity in her life that more than anything else, she
absolutely abhorred. When her father lost the elections for a local
post in 1998, people were still lining and piling outside their gate
asking for money, screaming that they voted for her father. But what
could she do? Like the call center industry, it permitted her to
study law.





This is my story. I want to share this to you because I know more
than anything else, I owe it to myself that by writing this, I could
fortify my justifications for staying in UP law. I may not know yet
what really is my reason for becoming a lawyer, and yes I may be
already burnt out, but definitely there is an existing reason why I'm
not bailing out. I'm gonna stay with you guys until we graduate in
2010, all the way until we take the bar and become lawyers. I also
hope I could inspire those who are thinking of leaving to stay. Yes
you have your reasons. I respect that. But maybe there's a chance.

UP Law Freshman: Burnt Out But Not Bailing Out

Once upon a time there was a girl who grew up too fast.

While her grade school classmates were playing pranks on each other,
her biggest problem was how to get a medal come recognition day so
she could make her parents proud. While her friends were using the
payphone to call up their sundo, she was calling her mom to give her
some tips on how to win an extemporaneous speaking contest.

When she became mayor of their high school student government, she
somehow knew and had to admit to herself that she was being more
unreasonable and more strict than the guidance counselor for not
letting in the campus a student who wore a spaghetti strap to the
school's acquaintance party.

And she's an only child.

The downpour during that UPCAT weekend seemed to join her as she
cried in the backseat of their car for leaving blank four questions
she did not know how to answer. For six months after the UPCAT, her
father believed she did not pass the exam. But she did. She had never
seen her father so happy.

Graduation Day. She could've sworn her medals weighed at least two
kilos. She had more medals than the valedictorian and the
salutatorian. And she's just a fourth honorable mention. She felt
that despite everything, she knew she failed her dad's expectations
of her.

She entered UP Diliman with every expectation that she could just be
like her first love. He was a UPLB University Scholar. Why couldn't
she? He only came to as high as being the 3rd District Junior Board
Member and San Pablo City Junior Mayor. She went on to become
Laguna's Junior Vice Governor.

GWA: 1.8. No. She wouldn't be joining her blockmates even on the
College Scholar list. And even after having a 1.5 GWA the next sem,
her total GWA for the two sems weren't even enough to provide her a
slot in Broadcast Communication. She's stuck in Speech Communication.
Not that she's complaining. The course was the mother of all
communication courses. But again, she knew her father was once again
disappointed.

A fellow UPCAT passer from her high school inquired if the rumors
were true that she was pregnant. She was flabbergasted. God she
didn't even have a boyfriend! She broke up with her last boyfriend
for two-timing her with someone who's more than willing to have sex
with him. She won't let her batchmates' snide remarks pull her down.

Her first college family was Chalk Magazine. She was an Official
Student Correspondent for UP Diliman. Chalk Magazine. ABS-CBN. The
name was enough for connections to start springing from everywhere.
That was her stepping stone to everything she became in the next
three years of her college life.

She loved the limelight. Until the limelight closed its doors on her.

For four months her family suffered bankruptcy. And to think she's an
only child. There were no other mouths to feed. Her parents refused
to have their house in Laguna rented out. They thought occupants
would just ruin the place. Case closed. But how were they going to be
able to pay for their apartment in Ortigas? Her father's boss just
lost the elections and her father was left without a stable job.
Though she trusted her father's ability to make the best out of the
worst (he was an orphan with ten siblings and he managed to send
himself and some of his siblings to school - a reason why this
author wouldn't give alms to nine-year old beggars) since he still
had his freelance job as a trusted senior media correspondent for
Manila Bulletin, it still didn't follow how he would be able to pay
for their rent, their electric and phone bills, gas, drinking water,
water supply, repair of their computer, television and refrigerator,
and send her to school.

She was bored. But she had summer classes from 7 AM to 11:30 AM and a
summer job at Speechpower from 1 PM to 8:30 PM in España. And she had
her karaoke, rather, her family's karaoke inside her room to stir her
to sleep.

They were able to get by. One day at a time. She didn't know how her
father managed to pull it off but eventually things came back to
normal. First the refrigerator, then a new television for her mom,
the old television repaired, a second hand computer that was
eventually replaced by a new one....Things really did came back to
normal....or so she thought.

A year after, friends and business clients inquired why her mom
suddenly looked so frail and weak. She mentioned that her mom went
through so much. But that she's just not the type who would go out
with friends.

And yes. The limelight indeed closed its doors on her. The spotlight
was on her mom. Inside the CT Scan. And then inside the MRI tunnel.
The tears just kep't on falling. She didn't want to look at her dad
who was just in one corner of Medical City, a very expensive hospital
but the nearest from their apartment, his head bowed. She didn't want
to know if his head was bowed because he was just tired and without
sleep or if he was thinking where he would get the money to pay for
the bills just so my mom would get well...No he was not thinking of
the bills...he was thinking of his wife. The girl saw from her very
own eyes how worried he was, how he didn't think when he instructed
the cab driver to take them to Medical City, again, a very expensive
hospital where an overnight stay in the ER would cost someone a
whopping P10,000 already. The girl saw her father's genuine concern
and love. Yes, love. Despite having the frailties of an ordinary
married man who was without a child for the first 13 years of his
marriage to a woman who's five years older than him. But that was
another story.

It was a baptism of fire. The girl didn't know what dementia means.
Her brain just wouldn't accept a single word that the snooty
neurologist was saying about how her mom's brain was decreasing in
size because of the series of small strokes that she had unnoticeably
suffered the past two years....

Two years...that included those four months of bankruptcy...She had
only cared for herself during that time...She had only cared how she
could escape boredom so most of her 24 hours were spent outside their
gloomy apartment...Where her mom stayed, patiently waiting for their
arrival from work and school...

All of a sudden, her father was telling her things that implied
responsibility - responsibility that she knew she really wasn't
prepared for no matter how tough her facade seemed to look like.
Things came too fast. But what could she do? Her father depended on
her to help him.

Sometimes, okay, most of the time, she's guilty of taking it all out
on her mom. But she's breaking deep inside and almost always ready to
fight it out with anyone who would insult her mom and call her
mom "matandang ulyanin". She almost always ready to preach to anyone
that sufferers of dementia are not insane.

And though in law school the Civil Code mentioned dementia as under
insanity, she's still ready to fight for her mom.

Why is she in law school? For her dad..Again once upon a time she
also dreamt of becoming a lawyer. Even her high school yearbook
described her as someone who would eventually become a lawyer-
broadcast journalist someday.

But then a few months into the UP Law Aptitude Exam (LAE), she bailed
out. She knew she had a career in media. Hell she was already in ABS-
CBN. Law school's a jealous mistress. And media as partner just
wouldn't do. Furthermore, she knew it was no more than a childhood
dream to fantasize about becoming a femme fatale in power clothes
with powerful, intimidating words in court.

Then again her dad, during those last two weeks before the exam,
asked her to take the exam; that he would pay for her review if he
had to; that he would support her all the way to law school. She knew
both her parents were frustrated lawyers. Stricken by poverty, they
knew they had to drop the legal and regal dream. Her father even
warned her, many times over, that if she wanted to finish law school,
she should not get married until she becomes a lawyer (he was already
married to her mom when he took his first year, first semester at
MLQU...for financial reasons, he had to drop out).

She doesn't believe in fate but it seems to keep on intervening. Last
two weeks. How the hell was she going to review for the LAE? All of
the posters advertising LAE were already through with their reviews.
She was ready to give up when she tried the very last poster. A one-
day review with a three-inch thick reading and practice materials.
She brushed up on her philosophy and math. She literally read the
dictionary. All of it. She did with hopes of not failing her father
again. She took the LAE with thought of not disappointing him again.
Not ever again.

When she passed, her father's lawyer colleague who graduated from UP
Law told her father that it must be fate. Think: "Many are called.
But few are chosen."

Like many of those law students with her, she knew she had a lot to
give up. She started college life with dreams of entering the world
of mediated communications. In law school, she just had to accept the
lifestyle of non-mediated communications.

While her fresh graduate batchmates were slowly inching their way up
to becoming a broadcast journalist and television and radio
commentators, she was working in call center, a job she used to
detest but eventually learned how to sincerely appreciate and love
especially when she knew it was one of those that permitted her to
nurture her law studies. Surely, the media was not one of it.

She was eventually shoved into the world of politics - an
omnipresent entity in her life that more than anything else, she
absolutely abhorred. When her father lost the elections for a local
post in 1998, people were still lining and piling outside their gate
asking for money, screaming that they voted for her father. But what
could she do? Like the call center industry, it permitted her to
study law.





This is my story. I want to share this to you because I know more
than anything else, I owe it to myself that by writing this, I could
fortify my justifications for staying in UP law. I may not know yet
what really is my reason for becoming a lawyer, and yes I may be
already burnt out, but definitely there is an existing reason why I'm
not bailing out. I'm gonna stay with you guys until we graduate in
2010, all the way until we take the bar and become lawyers. I also
hope I could inspire those who are thinking of leaving to stay. Yes
you have your reasons. I respect that. But maybe there's a chance.