THE LAMP THAT SHEDS LIGHT

by Joshua Ysrael T. Ragudo

In one of my seemingly usual college days, my professor in International

Law unexpectedly lowered her wall and allowed her students to see her evident
desperation over our nation’s state of affairs. This emotion was triggered by the
fact that the white board marker did not have enough ink to allow the professor to
scribble an outline of her day’s lecture. She was desperate because she was
supposed to be honing the most brilliant minds in the country’s premiere
university. And this premiere state university did not even have the minimum
facilities for her to do just that. An example - the white board marker that does not
leave a mark at all.

In the midst of her outburst, and with tears in her eyes, she said “ I hoped
that my generation could bequeath you with a nation you deserve. I hoped. I guess
in more ways, we have failed you.” Sooner than expected, half of the members of
the class were likewise crying. This made our professor ask her students why. We
told her “your generation was better than ours and you failed. What will the next
generation expect of us?”

Uella Vida V. Mancenido-Gayo wrote this as introduction for her essay about rule of law.
She recalled that she joined the contest only because of the cash prize that came with winning.
During that time, she had no money to enrol in a pre-bar examinations review class and she
thought that if she won, she would be able to raise the money she needed.

A matter of self-expression . . .

Eventually, her essay won first place in the National Essay Writing Contest. It was not
surprising because she was the editor-in-chief of The Junior Kingfisher, the official student
publication of the University’s Laboratory High School. She said, “having been elected editor in
chief was more a breather for me than a responsibility. I found solace in our little journ room
where I was free to express my thoughts through my pen. I never really saw myself as a leader. It
was more a stroke of luck rather than a decision. Writing, on the other hand, is really my first
love. I guess I knew I wanted to write as early as grade 3.

Writing is her first love and being able to contribute to various publications has been her
outlet and her break from being a lawyer. She mentioned, “When I write – even if I am writing
about the law, I am transported into a different world where all the legal inequalities and the
harsh realities of life do not really exist. So, contributing to various publications has been able to
shape my character in such a way that I am reminded of all the beautiful things about life that we
have to celebrate.”

Her writing skills could have been her passport to becoming a journalist. However, she
shared her view that journalism today lacks the same integrity as it had before. She added that
the vast freedom being accorded to our right to speech has been abused to a point that those who
look good on television, sound respectable in radio, or can write without any grammatical flaws
can easily tag themselves as journalists without taking into consideration that a true journalist
journeys toward the truth and not the fabrication of stories that will “sell.”

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 The right move . . .

A very good lawyer that she is, it is quite paradoxical that she never wanted to become a
lawyer. Early in her first semester in law school, she wanted to quit – and then her father died
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during the summer into her 3 year. So it has become sort of her “obligation” to finish what she
started for the sake of his memory. As a young lawyer, she had wanted to quit a lot of times but
her family has always been her motivating factor in pushing forward. Luckily, 6 years after
passing the bar exams, she is able to work from home while performing her spousal duties and
taking care of her grandmother and her mother.

Being a partner in RCM Law Office is a dream come true for her. Actually, the law firm
is more of a personal conviction. To quote the lawyer herself, “Putting up my own law office was
a product of a day dream until it actually materialized. As a partner, I get to choose which clients
to handle and this job has given me the luxury to make sure that the clients who do not have the
means to pay are not charged exorbitant fees.” Unquote: money is not everything.

This strong-willed lawyer completed the degree in Bachelor of Arts Major in Political
Science from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City in 2003. Then, she pursued
Bachelor of Laws at San Beda College in Mendiola, Manila in 2008 and passed the Bar
Examination in 2009. Being an insider in the world of the justice system, she gave her personal
opinion on the condition of the Philippine justice system today. She imparted, “The condition of
the Philippine justice system today is poor. My father’s case has been tried for 10 years now and
we are nowhere near its conclusion. This, however, cannot be attributed to the fault of the judge
or the prosecutor. It is simply a consequence of all the laws and the lawful process that is being
abused by most of our litigants to prolong a trial.”

Between the home and the office . . .

As an assistant corporate secretary of GPN International Maritime Training Center, she is

more involved in consultancy engagement rather than doinga full-time job. As an assistant
corporate secretary, her job is really limited to assisting the corporate secretary in legally guiding
the corporation. As a director of Harbour Centre Port Holdings, Inc., her job was to provide the
Board of Directors with the legal basis for its actions. Her stint with CPAC Monier Philippines,
Inc. was part of her tasks as a Junior Associate at Nava & Associates. CPAC was one of their
clients and as such, she was designated to assist it in its legal affairs. The list of her undertakings
is quite gargantuan for a woman who is also a wife, a daughter, a sister, a loving wife, and an
aunt.

Managing her time between work and family is tough. As a corporate lawyer, her job
demanded that she be present in the office or in meetings that run through the wee hours of the
morning. However, she quipped, “I am lucky that only 6 years into the practice and I am now
able to dictate the requirements of each job that I take and that I am able to bargain with bosses
as to the amount of time I spend in the office. I guess the secret is to never bring your work home,
to find a boss that will understand the need to also spend time with your family, and the faith that
you will earn enough training so that you will be equipped with more bargaining power for your
next job.”

Politics and journalism . . .

Atty. Mancenido-Gayo has been a legal counsel for various politicians. She has had a
hand at policy making and legislative outlining. For her, this work has some sort of a personal

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 purpose. She stated, “This is how I am able to give back to the society that has directly and
indirectly helped me to be who I am now. Strictly speaking, this stint is not hard because the only
consideration that has to be taken is the welfare of the public, whom I technically serve.”
Whether directly or indirectly, her objective still hits the bull’s eye – service.

Since she has been exposed to the world of politics, she shared her views about
politicians and the way they run this country - Politicians are, first public servants, before they
allow themselves to be consumed by the power and influence that come with politics. In general,
I would like to believe that they still have public service at heart. Unfortunately, this love for the
service is always jaded by external factors that make up an ultimate test in a politician’s
character. How they run this country is reflective of how they have let these external factors
affect their genuine passion for public service. From these lines, the lawyer’s critical thinking
abilities illuminate.

Her ability to provide judgment is shown when given this situation: Supposing politics
and public media would be put to the same trial court, the media as the plaintiff while politics is
the one accused of the crimes there has ever been for politicians, and you have the chance to
defend whichever you like, which would you choose? The lady lawyer unleashed a verdict
worthy of a Supreme Court ruling and a highly-credible newspaper’s editorial – Neither. Truth be
said, while some politicians are blatantly and shamelessly corrupt, the media has its own share
of corrupt practices. Without really pointing any fingers, we have to understand that everybody –
the politicians included – are ultimately at the mercy of the media because the latter control how
the minds of the general public will be shaped.

She added that a major change should occur in the world of politics and in the world of
media and journalism. She cited, “Our leaders should simply be reminded of why they are there
in the first place. The world of politics has been so manipulated by greed that this is the first
thing that has to be eliminated before we can find ourselves true leaders whose main goal is to
see to it that every Filipino will be able to take care of himself. In the world of media and
journalism, I think that we need to change the attitude of influence so that media personnel and
journalists will be able to rid themselves of the feeling of being powerful to a point that they are
led by a delusional belief that they can control everything.

Given this hypothetical question: If you will run for 2016 elections and will surely win, in
what position will you run for? Why? Her answer shows the high ideals she has set in the
realistic and pragmatic perspectives: If I will surely win in 2016, I will still not run simply
because I have always believed that I can effect change right from where I am standing.
However, assuming for the sake of argument that I will run, I will run for the position of
barangay captain because nobody can change the world overnight and those who believe
otherwise are hypocrites. Such answer should be emulated by politicians who campaign with a
lot of air castles built in every niche of their platforms and propagandas.

Learner and educator . . .

Having spent her early education at St. Francis of Assisi Consultant La Salle Greenhills
Gen. Trias, Cavite and Atheneum School, Noveleta, Cavite, our lawyer’s first taste of public
school is at the Southern Luzon Polytechnic College (now Southern Luzon State University)
nd
Laboratory High School. Her best memory will be her first day as a 2 year transferee when she
was the only one speaking English in class and Ms. Marie Villaverde asked her to scrub the
classroom floor just like everyone else. She revealed, “It is the best memory because it has
instilled upon me the value of humility and equality. Humility because coming from a private
school, it was the first time I was made to scrub a classroom floor despite the fact that I was
wearing jeans and that I was a transferee; and equality because at that point, it did not matter to
Mrs. Villaverde that I can speak straight English – I had to scrub the floor just like everybody
else.”

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 Aside from her work as a lawyer, she still finds time to share her expertise as a lawyer by
being a part-time instructor at Lyceum of the Philippines University-Cavite Campus. She
believes that the most challenging part of being an educator is the responsibility of being able to
inspire students not only to study but to make sure that their passion to learn does not fade. She
professed, “The generation today is so unlike my generation and I think it is a hurdle for every
teacher to make sure she is entertaining enough not to lose her students’ attention and yet strict
enough to make sure that her students know their boundaries and limitations.”

Those who do not know her will describe the lawyer as “suplada” or “mataray” but those
who really know who she is will attest to the fact the term “suplada” and “mataray” denote
another meaning. She imparted, “I am ‘suplada’ only because I do not believe in small talks and
I am ‘mataray’ because I expect only the best from those I interact with. After all, mediocrity is
something that should never be tolerated.

Her composition may have been written for those who are keeping an eye to the rule of
law. However, the context speaks beyond the realm of a lawyer or a law student’s vision. It is
also about a generation’s desire to make the next generation better than the former. Thus, the
faithful Catholic, the obedient daughter, the responsible sister, the loving wife, the doting aunt,
the educator, the writer and the lawyer Atty. Uella Vida V. Mancenido-Gayo provided a fitting
conclusion to her award-winning essay:

Most importantly, we have carved into our consciousness, albeit

unknowingly, the importance and urgency of following the same mantra that
resounds in the ear of probably every learner who stands in proximate description
of a law student: adherence to the rule of law is the lamp that sheds light to the
darkest hour of the night, delivering our country, finally, unto its renaissance.
This mantra, we will live by. And then, my generation will not have been a
frustration to my old professor. And we will not have become a false hope to the
heirs of this nation.

Until such time, I will be like her.

And like her, I will also hope.

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