E- values for Lawyers by Justice Artemio V.

Panganiban

I was really amazed on how Justice Panganiban tackled the parallelism between lawyers and their religious counterparts or holy men. Personally speaking, it merely reflects on how he considers the legal profession as a noble one for it requires patience, sacrifice, extreme preparation and of course aptitude. With these requisites, the road to being a good lawyer is not a walk in the park. Much like what is needed for one person to be considered holy. Holy in the sense that one can spread the word of God or a higher being, for he himself is suitable for the difficult task at hand. In the Philippine setting, I agree with Justice Panganibans view that many lawyers readily admit that honor, prestige and money were the most influential factors that lead them to pursue a career in law and not because they want to help in the administration of justice, which should be the foremost responsibility of every lawyer. This is undoubtedly the core reason on why some lawyers are so immersed with making money and they tend to forget that their actions are already outside the rule of law and within the bounds of evils creation. A few years back, when I was in high school. I asked my father who was a law professor then regarding his salary as a teacher. I asked him with sheer innocence, because I was concerned with the dubious fact on how he needs to teach law when he is already a lawyer. He then told me that it is not much. For him, it is just about his passion for teaching and giving back to the public, for God has been good to him. But the real truth behind my question was that, I just wanted to spend more time with him at home, see and hear him more often. I firmly believe Canon seven of the Code of Professional Responsibility stating that every lawyer shall at all times uphold the integrity and dignity of the legal profession, for the legal profession should be treated with utmost respect and nobility. The administration of justice and to serve the ends of justice to all walks of life should be primary concern of every lawyer. Honor, prestige and money should just come in as a huge bonus. Excellence, ethics and eternity. I was extremely enthralled on how Justice Panganiban tackled on eternity. This passage in particular, the sincere acceptance of this reality will dramatically transform our entire value system, alter our behavioral patterns and bring us to a renewed enlightenment of who we really are. Perhaps by consistently pondering on this, contemplating on