Via Dolorosa, Davaoeño Style

[caption id="attachment_2559" align="aligncenter" width="468"] Photo by Janice Sabnal[/caption]

The Via Dolorosa or Stations of the Cross—the way of the suffering—recalled the fourteen events before Jesus Christ was crucified. Catholics all over the world continue until today to commemorate it. They follow the way Jesus took, if not in the actual road, at least in their own enclaves.

No country celebrates the Holy Week, particularly the Via Dolorosa which falls on Good Friday, with much fanfare, festivity, exuberance, pomp, and energy than the Philippines. Each city or province has its own way of commemorating it, and each seems unabashed in declaring that under its aegis the faith lives on, even if what's on display is far from what the occasion truly means, and its religious significance is lost on the religious themselves.

Agco Kami, Kamo?

Holy Week has come to mean different things to different people. For the Catholics, it is the holiest of the Liturgical calendar which entails fasting, praying, or abstaining. It means doing things in moderation.

For others, however, it means quite the opposite. It means a trip to the beach or a trek to the mountains. To the non-Catholics and Catholics alike, it means a break from the daily grind of work. Indeed, it has come to mean more time to do more things.

Together with my friends, I indulged in a vacation binge—the first of many to come—and went to Lake Agco on Thursday last week, and stayed overnight.

Lake Agco is so popular a tourist spot one need not tell another where it is. Go to Kidapawan City, ask people around, and you’d get to Lake Agco with nary a trouble. And don’t bother wearing a pair of trekking slippers like I did, or bring all that mountain-climbing stuff—you’re not scaling Mt. Apo. Besides the road to Lake Agco is partly cemented; the portion not cemented, though, is paved, thanks to PNOC (Philippine National Oil Corporation) which developed the area to exploit its valuable geothermal energy.

We arrived at Lake Agco at around 12 noon, but because it is at the foot of the Mt. Apo, it was expectedly cold. We stayed in Lake Agco Mahomanoy Resort. It was crowded. Children were noisily frolicking in the swimming pool. The fact that the entire area is the Ancestral Domain of the Manobo Tribe and thus a hallowed ground did not deter men from making noises. Which made it discomfiting for those who came in search of peace and quiet.

Of course, one thing we went to Lake Agco for was the Lake Agco. But it was not in the lake itself where we bathed. For Lake Agco is so hot a crocodile wouldn’t even dare inhabit it. We bathed in the mini pool being made to appear like a hot spring by tapping the steam from the lake, redirecting it to the pool through a pipe, and thereby heating the mini pool. Think of a pan filled with water heated by a gas stove. That’s how it works.

There are lots of hot springs that sprung around Lake Agco. Of these, perhaps the cleanest is that which is found at the nearby Antayan Resort.

In taking a bath in hot springs, we were taught not to dip abruptly our whole body. The feet should go first. Soak them until it doesn’t hurt anymore. Then slowly submerge until the body finally adjusts to the temperature.

Beside the hot spring is a sauna that looks more like a cave than a sauna. It’s powered by the steam from the lake. But unlike in commercial spas, there is no knob that controls the temperature. So when we went inside, we felt like stray dogs being thrown into a gas chamber.

Perhaps among the offerings of Lake Agco, what gave more excitement to us was the mud pack. The mud around Lake Agco is rich in sulfur which they say could cure skin diseases. Would it work? Was it safe? We covered our body with mud anyway. But we didn’t expect it to work wonders—we don’t have skin diseases to speak of. Yet we did try it as though we’re kids playing with mud.

Long Live Justice Cruz

Former Supreme Court Justice Isagani Cruz is my idol. Cruz is most notable for his well-written ponencia (Supreme Court judicial opinions), which never fail to amuse me, and his defense of individual liberty, which never fail to inspire me. Sadly, Justice Cruz is gone. Long live Justice Cruz.

Baguio is so Common We are Going There

We'll be leaving for Baguio on April for a week-long vacation. Next to Boracay, Baguio is perhaps the most cliché vacation place. But we don't mind. We'll go there anyway.

For what?

The cold weather? But BuDa (Bukidnon-Davao) also has cold weather.

Strawberries? But we can buy them from the groceries.

Picture taking with an Igorot clad in a traditional attire? But we have more Indigenous People living here than there. Don't we see them during Kadayawan Festival?

Even if Baguio is so common a vacation spot, it doesn't dissuade us from going there. We want to see and feel Baguio ourselves simply because we haven't gone there yet. It's our first time.

There really is always a thrill about a first-time experience, diba?

Legal Ethics in 300 Words: Introduction

A lawyer never gets rich, my law professor told me, if he practices law strictly according to the ethics of the legal profession as embodied in the Code of Professional Responsibility (CPR).

That statement is not without implications. That implies that a rich lawyer is necessarily unethical. That also implies that the CPR is meant to impoverish a lawyer.

The truth, however, is that the CPR was put in place, according to Dean Ernesto Pineda, "to guard against the abuses and ill of the profession such as dishonesty, deceit, immorality, negligence, slothfulness, lack of diligence and the many forms of malpractice of the members of the Bar."

Without these rules found in the CPR, Dean Pineda said, "The practice of law which covers a wide range of activities...will be transgressive, anarchic, riotous, lawbreaking, defiant and disobedient to courts..."

Positively, the CPR will "raise the standard of the legal profession, encourage and enhance the respect for the law, assure an effective...administration of justice, assist in keeping and maintenance of law and order..."

"It also provides the basis for the weeding out of the unfit and the misfit in the legal profession for the protection of the public."

Promulgated on June 21, 1988, the CPR provides the rules of conduct for lawyers who are not members of the judiciary. It has twenty-two Canons which are grouped under four Chapters. All four Chapters refer to the four-fold duties of the lawyer to the Society, to the Legal Profession, to the Courts, and to the Client.

In the subsequent posts, I will try to discuss each Canon and provide my own observation in 300 words to also help the public understand the legal profession, and the ethical tenets by which lawyers are, theoretically at least, bound to follow.

Less Fanfare, More Substance: UMLAC Celebrates the International Women's Day 2013

[caption id="attachment_2517" align="aligncenter" width="521"] L-R: Atty. Eliza Lapiña , Jing Remolar, Dr. Tessa Mae Bongyan[/caption]

The nascent University of Mindanao Legal Aid Center (UMLAC) was at Barangay 40-D, Bolton Extension on March 9, 2013 to conduct a forum on women's health and related laws on women's welfare in line with the celebration of the International Women's Day.

Held literally under the Bolton Bridge where the noise of passing vehicles is deafening, the forum was nevertheless well-attended. Almost a hundred women from the Barangay came. Most of them are mothers themselves.

At the forum, Dr. Tessa Mae Bonguyan talked of the basic issues on women's health while Atty. Eliza Lapiña talked especially about R.A. 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act (VAWC).

Due Process in the Garden of Eden

[caption id="attachment_2510" align="aligncenter" width="670"] Expulsion from the Garden of Eden by Giacinto Gimignani[/caption]

Human rights are recognized here and elsewhere in the world. These human rights include the right to life, liberty, and property. In these modern times, there are various safeguards against the arbitrary and whimsical deprivation of these rights.

In our Constitution, for example, Sec. 1, Art. III provides, "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws."

Due process of law, in the classic definition by Daniel Webster, is a "law which hears before it condemns, proceeds upon inquiry and renders judgment only after trial."

The religious among us say that the concept of due process dates as far back as to the time of Adam and Eve. In Genesis, we first heard of the story of Adam and Eve.