“Ms. Cecil Dimaano? Atty. Gonzales po, from the Public Attorney’s Office”, went my first line as I play the role of a lawyer of Cecil Dimaano (Micky Feriols) in the afternoon teleserye Rosalka (ABS-CBN, Channel 2). I played the role of a lawyer many times in the past. In fact, my first major exposure on TV almost a decade ago was playing the role of one of the lawyers of Madame Claudia (Jean Garcia) in the very popular series “Pangako Sa Yo”.
Having a practicing lawyer who was a classmate of the Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona for a sister and a brother-in-law lawyer in real life play a major influence in me every time I am acting as a lawyer on TV. My work at the SSS as Project Manager of the Asset Management Department involves interaction with lawyers from our Legal Department, very recently in cases involving collection of unpaid rent. The fact that I am also a father of a University of the Philippines College of Law third year student added more impact in me as I mimic before the camera this lofty profession.
My bonding moments with my daughter are in times when I am acting as her driver to UP Malcolm Hall and to her dorm in Katipunan Avenue. During these times, I internalize her agonies as a law student, the sleepless nights of reading cases, the never-ending alertness during recitation so as to be prepared to answer the questions of the Law Professors and her agony of waiting for the results of the final grades make more more
On my first taping day for “Rosalka” after reading my script, I immediately texted my daughter that I was playing the role of a lawyer from the Public Attorney’s Office. Her response was, “Wow! What a noble role!”
Indeed, it struck me that I am playing the role not of an ordinary lawyer, but I am playing the role of a lawyer from the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO). As most of us are aware, the lawyers from the PAO are government lawyers are are therefore paid less since salary scale in the government is not that lucrative compared to the lawyers from the private law firms or the corporate lawyers from the top private companies. But, PAO lawyers regard their lawyering primarily as a vocation without thinking of the monetary reward. Having gone through law school, going through the bar review and passing the bar is definitely not a walk in the park. Yet, PAO lawyers opted to work almost pro-bono on cases involving the poor in only one thing in their mind: so that justice may be served to those who don’t have the capacity to pay the services of private lawyers.
It dawned on me that just like when I was playing the role of Father Jude in “May Bukas Pa” where I had the obligation to project the holy image of the priests, I am also obliged to uplift the image of PAO lawyers so that they would gain recognition with their unselfish and dedicated zeal for their vocation.
The script of Rosalka says that the rape case of Cecil Dimaano happened almost 20 years ago. The law provides that a rape case that happened 20 years ago is deemed expired and could no longer be pursued. However, Atty. Gonzales counted that there was still five months before it reaches 20 years, hence it can still be filed! It is in this situation that I will have to project my character.
With the Correctional for Women in Mandaluyong as our location, I had the chance to observe the convicted women serving their jail terms. I asked myself, “how many of these convicted women suffered an injustice?”. If I were only a real lawyer, if I were only a PAO lawyer…
