A thousand lawyers at the bottom of the sea

Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza opened himself to charges of unprofessionalism with his diatribe against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio during his speech before law graduates of the University of the Philippines (UP).

Some would say that Sereno’s and Carpio’s objection to Jardeleza’s nomination to the high tribunal on account of his alleged lack of integrity in handling the Philippines’ West Philippine Sea arbitration case was already water under the bridge and that Jardeleza’s comments were of no value while being divisive to the SC.

Maybe some of the graduates expected Jardeleza to deliver the usual “law is a noble profession” discourse or how the new lawyers, being officers of the law, should always hold themselves beyond reproach while serving the ends of justice. You know, the kind of speeches that lull the graduates to sleep.

But UP law graduates are better served being informed of the realities in the practice they are to embark on, thus Jardeleza’s explanation why he could not even defend himself on account of his being the keeper of state secrets as solicitor general then should have been highly informative to his audience.

While Lady Justice must always wear her blinders while holding the scale of justice, the sooner law graduates are stripped of their rose-colored glasses to see the practice of law in the Philippines for what it is, the better.

After all, Philippine law practice is ridden with scandals of judges being on the take, of temporary restraining orders (TRO) being on sale to the parties who can afford to pay millions, and of judges being grossly ignorant of the law, and of devious unethical lawyers who affirm the truth behind this joke:

Question: What’s a thousand lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?  Answer: A good start!”

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Image by thebureauinvestigates.com