There are several figurines that depict the Lady of Justice. Google it and you will be able to read more about it. However, for the purpose of this Article, I shall refer to the predominantly used 16th Century figurine of the blindfolded Lady of Justice.
Is Justice blind or is Justice not to be under any influence? 16th Century and the tales of antiquity for that figurine apart, why is it that a lady is used to depict the figurine of the Scales of Justice? Interesting subject for discussion to fill idle time.
However, to get directly to the purpose of this Article, I would like to share some of the salient points I learned during the 8 years that I spent waiting for my Court Case to proceed.
Work on the weak links
On both sides of the legal coin there would be one axiom, “Carpe Diem” (“Seize the Opportunity”). A failure to work on your weak links would allow the prosecution to cut you to pieces.
Work, work, work tirelessly on all the known weak links in your case.
Remember, your learned prosecutor will spare no feelings or hesitation to seize the opportunity you leave him with your weak links.
Be a good listener
It pays to listen (as well as to ask questions) with your lawyer. It does not mean that the lawyer knows everything and that he is invincible. Rather, it is to accept that you lack both an in-depth knowledge of how many permutations there are in Logic and that you also lack the experience.
Your lawyer is only as good as how much he gathers from you
Therefore, it does not help your cause if you withhold details from your lawyer. Details that would even include what you know about characteristics, personality and background of the plaintiff or defendant.
Lawyers can be likened to predators who give a lengthy chase, wearing down the stamina of their “prey” and then pounce when they wish to make their “kill”. This tedious run about to allow the person to drop his guard, lose his mental focus and answer given in a mesmerized mental state offers exactly what the lawyer seeks.
Maintain regular consultation with your lawyer
It helps a great deal if you are able to build a close working relationship with your lawyer. This allows both you and your lawyer to quickly identify, communicate and decide on the best line of approach.
Do not rest all your hopes solely on the lawyer
Your lawyer is human and fallible. With his extremely hectic schedule, he may miss some important points. That could prove disadvantageous to you.
You must bring to his attention on even the minutest detail if you believe it carries weight to prove your innocence or right of claim.
Sometimes, the lawyer is able to see the whole picture after several discussions and then he is able to accept the validity of your detail.
Allow your lawyer to rip you apart
It is better to “lose” your case in his Office than in the Court Room. Be patient no matter how many times your lawyer repeats his question or makes you repeat your side of the story.
He is looking for flaws; flaws that would decide whether you have a calculable chance in winning your case or whether you should decide for other options to settle the dispute.
Be prepared
First and always, have all your facts ready. I did say FACTS. That means hard facts and not hearsay evidence. Witnesses add more credibility in your favor.
Go through your facts with thoroughness. Always think how the prosecution would see it and not the way you see it. Therein lies your ability to see if there are any unsupported gaps with your rationale.
Be wary of trick questions
In the Court room proceedings, never answer a question put to you if you do not clearly understand what the question means. Understand the question before giving your answer.
Answer only the question and do not offer more details than needed. The more detail you offer, the more you are unwittingly helping the lawyer to throw more questions back at you.
When you are asked a question by the lawyer, the lawyer already has a queue of a dozen more while you are still grappling with your answer. In fact the lawyer has two sets of a dozen questions ready depending on what your answer will be.
Speak truthfully
This is the toughest part. You have vested interest and you have only one thing on your mind. To WIN.
Truth can be delusive under such circumstances.
You would swear to God that you’re speaking the truth but remember that the human mind chooses to believe only in what it wishes to believe in. So, tread carefully.
I am still learning and I do not claim that the above is all there is to it. I am fallible too.
I wish you blue skies and all things nice,
At the outset, this it is not an imaginative story. This is real as life. I have been living for the past eight years filled spasms of sheer anxiety and whither to.
I did not publish about this when I was blogging at Windmill on the Hill.
The Background
In 2002 after returning from Thailand, one of my ex-Suppliers requested me to support his business sales. I requested my wife to place some orders with him. We helped him with some and he became a regular supplier. We never faulted on payment for all the deliveries that were made to us.
Shortly after that he met me again. This time he told me that our orders were too little. He asked me to help him and canvass more business for him.
I recommended him someone who intended to start up his own business. It was up to this Supplier if he was willing to consider it as an added opportunity.
The Supplier seized the opportunity and began supplying materials to this new businessman.
When trouble began
In under a year, the recommended businessman ran into financial difficulties. He was unable to pay this Supplier for deliveries that were in arrears for 7 months.
I tried to help both parties to find a solution. There was no hope of a solution when the Supplier hired the Mafia to retrieve the debt. Worried for his own safety, the purchaser absconded.
Legal Summons
The Supplier engaged a lawyer. In 2003 his lawyer issued my wife with a Civil lawsuit alleging that the materials were sold to our shop and not to the businessman who had now absconded. It sought restitution for the outstanding balance of 7 months arrears that the new businessman owed.
(I never stood guarantor for any of the business dealings between the Supplier and the businessman who absconded.)
The Court Sessions
We have been attending Court hearings for the past 8 years (inclusive). At each of the scheduled hearings we were told that it is postponed.
Finally
After eight years of preparation and waiting, we finally had our case heard in Court today. For a moment I thought it was going to be postponed again because we were present at 9 am and waited till the elderly looking Judge finally appeared at 3pm. This Judge took so long to cum. I meant, come. hee hee hee
The Hearing
The evidence that I had meticulously prepared for our lawyer was sufficient to devastate the plaintiff’s allegations. He was totally routed.
He repeatedly contradicted himself and on many questions, he gave answers such as, “I don’t know” or “I think so”.
He pretended innocence about having forged my wife’s signature on one of the affidavits that he submitted to the Court. The Judge made a personal note about the forgery in his file. Thank heavens, the Judge has no hearing problems.
Our lawyer aced it. His query technique forced the plaintiff to admit that he did not sell the materials to my wife.
Nothing succeeds like success
During the entire cross examination, the plaintiff’s lawyer was unable to object to any part of the proceedings. The plaintiff was visually a nervous wreck.
The Judge called for a resumption of the hearings. The next session will continue with the plaintiff being cross examined. He ain’t seen nothing yet
Hell knows no fury than Windy scorned by lies and fabrications.
Although the plaintiff and his lawyer made a hasty exit after the hearing, I am looking forward now to Mar 29. Now, I really don’t mind if the resumption is postponed for another 8 years!
Moral: That’s what one gets paid (sometimes) for helping others
I wish you blue skies and all things nice,
I have wanted to write about this but procrastinated doing it for quite some time. This is what I been waiting to write about and here it is.
To clarify the kind Comment I refer to, it does not include spam, obnoxious personal attacks and those laden with expletives. These would never pass a Blogger’s approval.
Instead, I wish to query whether you have ever found your Comment at a Blog being treated in any way like this?
1. Your Comment is deliberately edited; not for spelling and grammar incorrectness.
2. Your Comment is published but later deleted.
3. Your Comment is rejected during moderation because the Blog owner disagrees with your Comment.
This Article comes at the heel of something that I experienced.
I have made a comment with good intentions. This Blogger once requested me to submit a Comment at his Blog. The Blogger made a request to me through EntreCard’s Message facility.
I responded and left Comments at the requestor’s Blog quite a number of times.
My Comments submitted followed the basic rules and did not succumb to personal vindictiveness or the use of foul language. My Comment was approved and published by the Blogger.
The Blogger in fact replied to my Comment without any argument. Parts of my Comment was quoted by the Blogger and with an appreciation that it added knowledge to the Blogger’s overview.
The rest of the Blogger’s reply was an egotistical and shameful exposition about the stature of the Blog and claims of endorsement received from others.
In a case I observed at another Blog, a Comment left by a Blogger was deliberately edited by the Blog owner. It reduced the Comment to lose some of its meaning and continuity.
Questioning censorship of Comments does need a dichotomy whether a Comment is within the ambit of freedom of speech. It is a simple common sense social communication feature that exists with Blogs, Forums and other forms of interaction on the world wide web.
What is my opinion on the matter?
For Bloggers who censor Comments as I have described above, it appears that these Bloggers accept only shoe shine Commentators at their Blogs?
Is Blogoeccentricity a new fad?
For Bloggers who unethically edit and alter the meaning of the Comment, deny or delete Comments without justification, they should disable the Comment feature at their Blogs.
P.S: No identities will be divulged to queries.
I wish you blue skies and all things nice,
Have you ever been faced with a dilemma, “What gift to buy?” when you are caught off guard about an approaching birthday?
With the hectic schedule that I am now undergoing to prepare for the National Vote Day, I almost forgot my dear uncle’s Birthday which is at the end of March.
I looked around and found Black Friday. What a marvellous solution in a situation that I am in right now!
I know what the my Birthday gift for him will be.
I wish you blue skies and all things nice,
COMELEC
By ·
This is Windy. I was teasing Lainy about COMELEC. This is the gist of the discussion we had.
What does the acronym COMELEC mean?
Does it mean COME ELECt?
Or more appropriate under the present circumstance,
would it mean COME ELECtricity?
Of course it is truly known as,
Commission on Elections
What do you think the decibel meter reading these days is over at COMELEC’s head office?
Several months ago, I left a Comment at Lainy’s Boss’ blog, Bottom Lines, stating my doubts for a smooth automated operation. It is due to the brownouts that plague the Philippines. Brownouts were part and parcel of life back in 1980 when I lived and worked in Manila. 30 years onwards and it is very much the same today.
I have read umpteenth assurances from COMELEC’s Press statements and that random and ubiquitous brownouts will not be an issue come National (automated) Vote Day. Not totally convinced themselves I suppose, COMELEC’s Officers reneged and said that if brownouts impede the progress of automated voting on the day itself, Plan B will be executed – pencil and paper. Just pray that the Philippines does not suffer a cartel on pencil and paper before National Vote Day because there is no Plan C.
Only a couple of days ago, Mindanao, the largest island in the Philippines was given an Energy Crisis declaration by the Philippine President. The rest of the country although not as severely hit, limps with Energy rationing.
The causes for the rationing of electric supply were reportedly due to leaking boilers and drastic reduction in water supply for hydroelectric stations.
To introduce a project of this magnitude and aware of the incorrigible, erratic Energy situation, COMELEC should have adopted a more comprehensive think tank approach rather than assuming automation merely equates to plug and play.
The Philippine Department of Energy cannot be absolved. Having known from previous El Niño effects, decades have passed without the DOE dealing pro-actively. Simple people are naturally pro-active. They keep candles at home.
What are the chances now for El Nino to dissipate early enough and for the Philippine skies fill the water cachement locations ?
And after the boilers are fixed what are the chances for some other long overdue maintenance item to sieze and go bust at the Energy generating stations?
Oh, Murphy’s Law to the fore!
Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
But may I make a dig? The money that was spent for automated voting should have gone first to subsidize, expand and modernize Energy supply in the Philippines.
I wish you blue skies and all things nice,
As would be expected, during the coming two months there will be an all-out effort by the President wannabe’s in the Philippines. They will need to up the ante as National Vote Day draws closer.
This Theme Song is to provide them assistance during their heated pursuit.
(lyrics are sung to Abba’s “I Have a Dream”)
I have a dream, a lie to sing
To help you and economy
Don’t you see my chances to be President
You can trust your future even if you haven’t
I believe in bragging
There’s always something for me and me
I have to be bragging
Ano! it’s the time for me
Believe my dream – give me esteem
I have a dream, no bullshitting
To help me through get rich I mean
For my banking account it is worth the while
Lying through this campaign so don’t you revile
I believe in bragging
There’s always something for me and me
I have to be bragging
Ano! it’s the time for me
Believe my dream – give me esteem
Believe my dream – give me esteem
I have a dream, a lie to sing
To help you and economy
Don’t you see my chances to be President
You can trust your future even if you haven’t
I believe in bragging
There’s always something for me and me
I have to be bragging
Ano! it’s the time for me
Believe my dream – give me esteem
Believe my dream – give me esteem
I wish you blue skies and all things nice,
The Philippine Daily Inquirer recently published an article titled,
What next president must do to grow economy
As advised by Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, a top economic adviser of President Macapagal-Arroyo, it went like this:
A well-sustained economy, poverty reduction, fiscal issues and control of corruption are the national imperative concerns that the next president should look into in order to attain higher economic growth.
A moment please…
Before I lose my train of thoughts, I have a relevant question to ask Gov. Joey Salceda.
My question:
Sir, during the two terms of the President Macapagal-Arroyo, were those also your repeated advice? Assuming you did advise the same, how much has been accomplished in real measurable terms?
From my appreciation of what troubles the Philippines most, Gov. Joey Salceda’s advice should be in this order of importance:
1. Control of corruption
2. Reduction of poverty
3. A well sustained Economy
4. Fiscal issues
It is ridiculous that Gov. Joey Salceda’s advice comes at the eleventh hour, a few months before the citizens vote for a new President. Like many of my countrymen, neither do I agree that President Macapagal-Arroyo and her Administration have addressed any of those priorities in a significant way nor will they leave a legacy of achievements for any of the advice given above.
Self delusion
A recent report by the Acting Local Chief Executive of Legazpi City, Albay wrote this about Legazpi City, Albay.
Why “Reaching out”? Amidst poverty in the economy and politics, aggression and disunity became an epidemic. Crisis in the leadership is likewise evident that resulted to confusion and vacuum in the governance.
If that is not convincing enough, how about this?
Meeting With the Governor of Albay Province, Philippines
Excerpts from the author, U.S Senator Pam Roach:
Well, this was a day to remember! Thank goodness I am leaving town!
My hosts arranged for a meeting with the governor of the province, Governor Joey Salceda. Mainly, we wanted to acquaint him with the hospital. But, we did want to bring up the fact that a container full of donated medical supplies and medicines sat on the dock in Manila for a year and a half before it was released.
Instead, the governor announced his most important issue was global warming and preceded to talk non-stop about that………..
You should not miss reading the the rest of that Article written by U.S Senator Pam Roach.
Now, don’t get me wrong. This isn’t a character assassination bid. This is just one of the countless examples about the demerits of Philippine politicians who have been entrusted with the noble duty to serve the populace.
As Governor of Albay, Joey Salceda needs first, to come to terms with the sorely needed improvement at his own Albay backyard before advising the President on a national scale or being presumptuous about what the future President must do. The blind leading the blind aptly describes this ironical situation for the Philippine economy.
About the “massive savings surplus” which Gov. Joey Salceda takes pride in, unfortunately it is not the sole indicator of economic growth. Why does Gov. Joey Salceda not mention the percentage of the Philippines population that lives below subsistence level?
It is the intrinsic strength and the purchasing power of the Peso that gauges the success for the Economic policies administered by the Government.
For the rest of Gov. Joey Salceda delivery, it can be said that it is comparably no better than what a student in Socio-Economics would echo parrot-wise from his text book.
Same old, same old. Nothing inspirational with these politicians, bureaucrats and advisers who share several things in common, such as:
- MISSED AND SQUANDERED OPPORTUNITIES
- NO ACTION, TALK ONLY!
I wish you blue skies and all things nice,
As I see It, Do You?
By ·
What is the present political landscape of the Philippines? For now let’s side-step history and look forward.
Does it augur well for the betterment of the citizens of the Philippines?
I would like to believe that the new change of leadership will achieve that but there are several serious reasons that lead me believe otherwise.
From the Presidential candidates there isn’t any that has produced a clear Manifesto of what he seeks to achieve during his mandate in Office. A Manifesto that would clearly map if his aims are credulous and achievable. Also, the Manifesto would serve as a gauge for the efficacy of his leadership.
As with all our past and present Presidents, they are full of it, self-praise about their achievements. If their achievements were true why are Filipinos none for the better today and why is the purchasing power of the Philippine Currency lagging behind South East Asian countries? It must be noted that the Philippines does not face any economic challenge or impact that is unique when compared to her neighbors.
The Presidential candidates have produced no Manifesto. As an ordinary Filipino I know what the candidate wants but do I know what I will receive? If you have been keeping abreast of what the Presidential candidates have been doing, there is nothing short of bickering, backstabbing and lip service that follow in their trail. It is a national soap opera and it bears no resemblance of the seriousness that the highest Office in the land demands.
If there be truth in the axiom that unity in diversity can exist, each vying candidate would then have one perennial aim in mind. It is to bring a greater good for the citizens in every aspect. This in turn becomes the macroeconomics springboard that will benefit the country.
However, is that axiom true with the political aim of these vying candidates? I dare say that it is not true simply because my fellow countrymen have been going around in endless circles. Our politicians are deft in spinning wheels and blowing smoke in Filipino eyes. So, the standard and the quality of Filipino life have not improved except for the privileged.
One politician recently thundered that the Filipino middle class must increase by a quantum leap to ensure a stable and vibrant Philippine economy.
Clap! Clap!
Well said! May I ask how he perceives achieving that. Where is his blue print? See reader, it is all hot air again. Get the vote by handing out dreams to the voter.
Filipinos are too easily swayed by the political drama and the clout of the media. There is more than meets the eye when the ulterior motives of these politicians seek for votes. To the simple-minded voter whose emotions are manipulated, the well being of his own future is traitorously overwhelmed by promises. Promises that the simple-minded voter fails to see as hollow and unattainable, given the circumstances in the country.
While the dirty linen of each candidate’s personal life and morals are served as fodder to dupe the gullible, it helps the opposing candidate to pursue his goals with greater speed and success.
Why should rational citizens be deluded by this kind of diversions and miss what they owe first to themselves? The rational approach is to question their livelihood today and what they aspire it to be during the mandate of the new leader.
The Philippines is immensely endowed with natural resources and opportunities. Its people are highly literate and they are productive. When these two are combined, it can and it should develop the Philippines far better and far greater than what it is today.
Instead of developing our nation’s potentials, Filipinos are driven out of our country by the domestic hopelessness. We develop the economies of foreign lands beyond our shores to work as domestic maids and laborers. What about the brain drain caused by Filipino professional emigrants?
What is left behind in the country then is very obvious. In two months hence the citizens will vote the lesser of two evils to be the President of the Philippines.
I wish you blue skies and all things nice,
