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| Image from philstar.com |
Perhaps it’s because I am not a lawyer that I don’t
understand how a lawyer’s mind works.
Take the case of Attorney Lorna Kapunan, she with the close cropped hair,
goth-inspired eyeliner and slow, drawling speech that reminds me of a carabao
that has learned human speech, legalese at that, who in a recent exclusive
interview with Karen Davila succeeded in convincing me that there are secret
societies in the lawyers’ world composed of heroic, noble and idealistic
attorneys in one corner, and a cabal of scheming, devious and cunning suits who
use their encyclopedic knowledge of laws to muddle cases, malign personalities,
and throw legal obstacles at pursuits of truth ruling the other; surrounding
them are lawyers content to affix their signature on affidavits, interpret laws
for corporations, or silently broker deals legal or otherwise.
Of course, I may be wrong.
I’m not a lawyer and I don’t understand how a lawyer’s mind works.
Maybe law schools have secret parallel worlds that can only
be breached by any law student willing to swap memorizing the Constitution over
having a good movie date, or two that could land him a base, or two. In this hidden world, law students are banged
on the head by a gavel until they tread between consciousness and a possible homicide
case, and would emerge from the stupor merrily choosing a house: Gryffindor! Or
Slytherin! Or Notario!, which would ultimately seal their fate and mission once
they pass the bar.
Kapunan spun a yarn, or at least tried to paint a scenario, of
how Benhur Luy and Merlita Sunas, erstwhile right and left hands of her client
Napoles, managed to dupe the entire nation including goodhearted but dimwitted
senators and congressmen into parting with money that can’t even be counted
without losing count. And all these
happened right under the nose of Napoles and her daughter Jean who were too
preoccupied buying designer bags and exotic cars to know anything about how her
trusted hands were besmirching her untarnished reputation.
I know Kapunan is supposed to do that as the defense
attorney. And that’s what I don’t
understand. How far can a defense lawyer
go in defense of the indefensible? Does
painting a lie count? Or casting shadows
(she hinted at Benhur’s sexual preference) on an already shadowy
character? Or shedding crocodile tears before
cameras as she implores “Oh, who can we trust but God”?
Since I am not a lawyer, I say I don’t have a clue. But to prove my argument that there is a
secret lawyers world, I would like to cite in evidence the true-to-life
portrayal of defense lawyers in the Devil’s Advocate starring Keanu Reeves and
Al Pacino, who together elaborately laid down the groundwork of evil for
litigation success. Oh yes, this movie
by the way has its Pinoy life-imitating-art version starring the lawyer Fortun
who is at the forefront of defending evil legion personified – the Ampatuans
and, before that, once-popular President and now laughable city mayor Joseph
Estrada, father of kindhearted but dimwitted senator Jinggoy Porkstrada.
Kapunan, herself, is a stalwart as far as the caliber and class
of her sources of income are concerned.
She counts among her clients Hayden Kho and Marjorie and Claudine
Barretto – characters embroiled in unsavory situations. Tell me who your friends are and I will tell
you who you are. Of course Kapunan would
say that they are not her friends; that she is simply putting a good word or two
for them. I don’t know. I don’t know
how lawyers think, and I imagine carabaos speaking legalese so I can’t really be
trusted on these matters.
I lost count at how many times Kapunan qualified her statements
with “As a matter of fact…” As a matter
of fact, Napoles knew nothing about the NGOs.
As a matter of fact, the 17 supposed former Napoles employees turned whistleblowers
all conspired to pin down Napoles to hide their devilish plans. As a matter of fact this, matter of fact that.
If behavioral scientists are to be believed, one of the
telltale signs a person is lying is when he or she uses “As a matter of fact” to
bolster his or her statement. But then again,
what do I know? I am just a curious biker
who imagines a carabao speaking legalese, not really a legal luminary, nor even
a law student who has had the privilege of having a gavel banged on his head.
But what I know is that every time Kapunan opens her mouth,
she is being paid for by the money that has been siphoned off taxpayers; the
same greens that were diverted from farmers’ implements, students’ classrooms
and livelihood programs for the unemployed.
And I am sure that she knew and perhaps because of her advise (but won’t admit) that Napoles began
withdrawing money from her countless bank accounts when this mess began to
stink. She should be made part of the
charge sheet as an accessory to plunder.
Of course, I am not a lawyer and I don’t understand that a lawyer can
lie through the skin of her teeth and proudly claim that she is only doing her
job.
I don’t understand.
Perhaps, in law school future lawyers are taught how to set
aside personal beliefs and morals for the good of a bad person. Oh,
Slytherin. I don’t understand. In fact, I believe that Benhur Luy and
Merlita Sunas orchestrated all these mess, and now Napoles and the senators,
and the congressmen are being unjustly vilified.
To paraphrase Kapunan in her teary spiel, “Oh, who can we
trust… a lawyer perhaps?”
