law and human dignity
After spending seven months in a detention facility, 23-year-old Romalyn Gumapos and her family were ordered released by a Manila judge last March 5 after the complainant, a policeman, admitted he made false statements against them.
It was a moment she had been looking forward to, Roma says, since the day former vice president Jejomar Binay approached her six months before and asked permission to be their family’s lawyer.
The former vice president is dean of the University of Makati’s School of Law (UMAK SoL) and head of its Legal Aid Center. Before he was appointed mayor of Makati following the 1986 EDSA Revolution, Binay had been a human rights lawyer, with a reputation as a court tactician. Colleagues described the former vice president as a methodical litigator, patiently peeling off a witness’ testimonies to expose inconsistencies.
When she was arrested and detained, Roma, as she is called by family and friends, was a student at UMAK’s College of Business Finance. Her plight was brought to the former vice president’s attention by one of her professors.
When the former vice president offered to be their lawyer, Roma and her kin had been in detention for more than a month.
She recalls she was surprised when Binay appeared before their hearing at a Manila court in September last year. “Nagpakilala po siya at nagpaalam siya na kung pwede siya ay na lang ang maging attorney namin na hahawak ng kaso,” she says. A frail-looking young woman, Roma recalls that her family’s ordeal began in August 2018.
They are a family of vendors in Manila, living off the streets. On that day, she and her sister encountered an off-duty policeman and his wife. After an altercation over their wares, Roma said the policeman grabbed her sister by the hair. She intervened and cried for help. The other family members and several bystanders came to their rescue.
Responding policemen broke off the commotion. The off-duty policeman then told the police that the family had attacked him. Attempted murder charges were filed against Roma and her family.
Roma says she knew the former vice president when he was still the Makati mayor. She and her sister grew up in an orphanage in the city and attended public school there. Roma would see then mayor Jojo Binay visiting schools and attending graduation rites.
For the former vice president, Roma and her family’s case cried out for justice.
“I spent long nights studying her case and preparing for each trial. It was clear she had been falsely accused,” he says.
Roma saw this in the vice president each time he would meet them before a hearing. “Nakikita ko po na parang every hearing, puyat siya. Lagi niyang pinagaaralan yung kaso,” she says. Binay would also send his staff from UMAK to visit the detained family and attend to their needs. “Lagi po siyang nakiki-update sa amin, nagpapadala ng tao kinukumusta kami kung okay kami. Talagang hinahawakan niya yung kaso,” she says. Roma recalls that former vice president Binay would be relentless in his cross-examinations.
He exposed inconsistencies between the sworn statements and the statements made in open court by the complainant and the prosecution witnesses. In one hearing, she recalls, the complainant raised his voice several times, apparently angered by Binay’s line of questioning.
One witness, a policeman who responded to the commotion, would also admit in court that the statements he made in a signed affidavit were false.
The court would later allow Roma to post a lower bail to take care of her sick mother, who had been confined at the Ospital ng Makati at Binay’s endorsement.
Roma says she was surprised when, during the hearing on March 5, the judge announced her decision dismissing the case.
“Noong araw po na iyon hindi namin alam na madi-dismiss… Pagkatapos po ng huling hearing, umiiyak po yung asawa at ang pulis. Sinalubong po nila kami ni VP tapos inamin nila na gawa-gawa lang nila, wala talaga kaming kasalanan. Inamin niya na gawa-gawa lang niya ang mga statement para
makulong kami. Hindi lang daw nagkaintindihan,” she says. Roma admits the hardest part for her was forgiving her accuser. But it was the former vice president who reminded her of the virtue of forgiveness, citing passages from the bible.
Roma and her family intend to rebuild their lives. She says she will re-enrol at UMAK and hopes her sister would pass the entrance examination for senior high school.
Her parents, however, have yet to decide if they would continue vending at their old spot, for fear of reprisal.
Roma is thankful that the former vice president never gave up on her family.
“Nagpapasalamat po ako kasi hindi niya kami sinukuan hanggang matapos ang kaso namin. Natutunan ko po sa kanya na magpatawad kahit na ang hirap noong nangyari sa amin, matuto daw po ako magpatawad,” she says. For Binay, Roma’s case underscored the need to provide legal aid for indigents. “The law should always protect the weak, the poor, and the vulnerable. As lawyers, we should always strive to protect their rights and dignity,”
Binay says. “Napakarami po ng gaya nila na nakukulong kahit walang sala dahil
lamang wala silang abogado na magtatanggol sa kanila,” he adds. The former vice president also thanked the judge, Judge Thelma Bunyi-Medina of Manila Regional Trial Court branch 32, for showing compassion when she allowed a lower bail for Roma so she could take care of her sick mother.
After his term ended in 2016, the former vice president returned to his two loves: the academe and the law.
He founded the UMAK School of Law, and resumed his career as a trial lawyer.
He admits he was disappointed by the clear abuse of authority in the case of Roma and her family.
“When I was a human rights lawyer, we were representing clients who had been unjustly accused. That was during Martial Law. Sadly, these forms of abuse persist until now,” he says.
“We still have persons in authority who are supposed to uphold and implement the law, abusing their power against the poor and the defenseless,” he adds.
The only recourse for the poor, he says, is the law but they cannot afford the services of a lawyer.
“This is why it is important that we become pro-active. Our legal Aid Center at UMAK is intended to provide free legal service to those in need,” he says.
More importantly, the former vice president said lawyers should also be active in protecting the independence and integrity of the judiciary.
“An independent judiciary is our only check against abuse of power,” he says.
Aside from teaching and the law, Binay has also taken as a personal crusade the promotion of dignity and compassion as the core value of
governance.
“Compassion and respect for dignity should be translated into policies and programs that impact positively on the lives of the people we serve.
As I have said before, it should be government’s priority to redeem the people’s dignity,” he said in a recent speech.
“The right to life and the right to due process is as important as the right to be free from hunger, to have access to health care and education,” he added.
In another speech before the YMCA of Makati, the former vice president said “much still needs to be done to promote respect for dignity as the core value of governance.”
“The challenge is to uphold the dignity of the people by recognizing their right to education and health care, to live in a community free from fear and hunger, and to be treated fairly and equally before the law,” he said. Makati has shown that it can be done. During his first year as acting mayor, the municipality was bankrupt, with its obligations far exceeding its revenues, he told the crowd.
The former mayor said that after 33 years, the city government has succeeded in extending to all citizens, especially the poor, quality health and education that were previously accessible only to a few.
“Our social programs have made an impact on the lives of the citizens of Makati. Poverty has dropped drastically. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, from a poverty incidence of 34.7 percent in 2000, we have succeeded in lowering the poverty rate to 0.5 percent in 2012,” he said.
What was once a bankrupt municipality in 1986 is now the richest local government in the country, he said, citing a recent report by the Commission on Audit (COA).
The hallmarks of the Binay administration – programs that promote affordable and decent health care, freedom from hunger, and good education – have raised the bar for local government units around the country.
“This was how we shared prosperity in Makati. In so doing, we redeemed the people’s dignity,” Binay said.
During the elder Binay’s term as mayor, the Policy Center of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) released a study where Makati was ranked second only to Japan in the Human Development Index (HDI), outranking Malaysia, China and Indonesia. The criteria for HDI rankings – a tool developed by the United Nations – include life expectancy, adult literacy, school enrolment, educational attainment, and per-capita GNP.
For the former vice president, the greater purpose of law is to ensure that each individual receives the opportunities to prosper and grow with dignity.