“Between the law and justice, choose justice. Always justice.”
This was the message of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) to those who took the “gruesome” bar examinations which ended on Nov. 25, the last of the four Sundays of the exams.
READ: More than 8,000 aspirants complete bar examinations
The NUPL congratulated the exam takers and challenged them to “be the one who seeks to truly understand the spirit of the law, to correct the inequities, to make law and justice mean the same.”
At the same time, the NUPL remembered the work of one of its founding members, Benjamin Ramos, who was assassinated by unidentified gunmen last Nov. 6.
READ: Lawyer for 9 slain farmers shot dead
“[Ramos] dedicated his practice to the empowerment of farmers in the countryside. He lawyered for the poor and marginalized, knowing that their rights entitled them to more than they received,” the NUPL said. “And when they were being murdered, as in the massacre of nine sugarcane workers in Sagay on October 20, 2018, he (Ramos) was one of the first on the scene.”
Ramos is the 34th lawyer to be killed during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, according to the NUPL.
READ: 9 sugarcane workers gunned down in Negros Occidental
“He is one of the people we have lost in this era, along with due process of law in the “war on drugs”, trust and dignity in public offices, genuine patriotism, and generally, the sense of right and wrong,” it said.
The NUPL also criticized the “system” for how it worked “mostly for the convenience and benefit of the few, not of the vast majority of people.”
Thus, the NUPL reminded the aspiring lawyers that the legal profession “can steer it back to what is right from within.”
The organization urged the aspiring lawyers to join the NUPL in fighting “against the crushing tide of ignorance, intolerance, and historical revisionism that the Duterte era has ushered in.”
It likewise challenged those who desire to become lawyers to aspire “genuine service” to the Filipino people.
“Beyond money, to earn respect. Beyond favorable judgment, to win with integrity. And ultimately, to be the best lawyer for the people that money cannot buy,” NUPL said.
“And when in these confusing times when the law is twisted to justify the wicked, we hope you stand with us and the public good,” it added. /atm