Profiles: members of the bench and bar

Title

Language

English

Year

1960

Subject

Santos, Arsenio.

Lawyers -- Philippines.

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

PROFILES: MEMBERS OF THE BENCH AND BAR ARSENIO SANTOS Jtul11e, Court of. Firtt Instanee of Pampan,11 T~ temper justice with mercy is an act of humanity. It is no le'Ss 8.n· act of nobility. Mercy ia rightly described as the crown ot · jU:Stice. There is always the recurring possibility that what Justinian or an assistant of his defined as "the earnest and constant will to render to every man his due" may have e1Ted, that the ·proverbial scale Or balance may have been tipped in favor of seVerity or injUstice.'· It Is altogether unfortunate that in the administration of justice In the Philippines, many a judge often forgets to temper justice or what he thinks is just. The reason is that In ~nstru· i~c or_ interpretin& the law, he adheres more to the letter than t.o the spirit that prompted the enactment of such law. Years aco, an. Ameridan W«ld War '911teran, wishing to aUay the pann of hunger, yielded to the temptation of helping him.self to a ·few apples and a pouitd of grapes. Later he told the fruit vendor that he had no money and cot1sequently could not pay for the damage. He was placed under arrest. Brought to court, he confessed to the judge that since he left the army he had been out of job, th•t he had tried his beat to look for one but without aueee.18. that he had· a wife and son to share his lot. Satisfied that the accused bad told nothing but the truth, the judge set him free. He went further: he asked the people In court io chip in Whatever they could for the old veteran. The audience contaibuted twenty-five dollars with which the &C'c.Used reiuriled home plus a job. Ponibly, what the good judp had done was not stric:Uj in accordance with the · 1aw, but he earned high commendations both from the press and the publie. Fee'lill&' hungry after roinr his dailY rounda in the old W:alled City for possible ~ustomers, a young bootblack seated himself in a Chinese iutaurant and ordered some 'food. After finishing his meal, he went to the manarer and told him that he had no money with which to pay. He was arrested, charged with eata/a, and was sentenced by the municipal judge to more than one month's impriaonment. The judge excused himself by sa~lng, possibly to ealve ··hia.·eonscience, that the law gave ·him no discretion. Finding himfflf similarly situated aa hia American counter. part, a judge of the Court of First Instance of Pampanga, with out having heard about the American veteran's case! recently ac· quitted an old man, an ex.guerrilla, cbarpd with having helped himself also to some food for himself and his wile and children. Re pleaded guilty, but begged that he be cinn another chance as h~ had failed in his effort to look for a _job. A number of witnesses testified to the truth of the perrilli.'a statement. The judge generoualy responded. to the plea for mercy, had the hat pasa· ed around in court for those who were willing to help. Not oi>.ly did the p1isoner return home with money, but what wu better, he waa assured of a job in the comfnunity. " The judge who did honor to hia position and still does is a son of Bulacan, but a district judge of Pampanga. Judge Ai-se· nio Santos, a native of Malabon, is not only a man of understanding, but a man of broad sympathies, who, despite his inherrted wealth, has not loat the common tout'b. Re has had a nried careel" that gave him perspective and experience. Re finished hi11 collegiate course at the Ateri"eo de Manila, majoring in philosophy. Enjoying a tremendous popularity in his home town largely due to his kindness to the people and his willincneas and disposition to help wherever he can, he was -elected ma1or of Malabon in 1~16 when he was barely 19 7ears of age. Knowinc that he was a minor, his opponent filed f'UO ttnr· ranto proceedings. Unseated by order of the court, Santos wal' named acting mayor or· rather municipal president by the Gover· nor-General. With reluctance he accepted the appointment. His position did not prevent him from taking up law, the intricacies and complexities of which fascinated him after he lost in court. In 1921 he completed his law course at the famed Escuela de Derecho, now defunct, and passed the bar in the same year. Promptly, he was designated secretary of Bulacan'a provincial board. The late Governor-General Wood ·took notice of him and appointed him acting provincial governor; but determined not to be in politica, he resigned in two days. Efforts were exerted by General Wood to keep him in office, but he firmly declined the offer. He wanted to remain just a plain citizen, a lawyer, not a politician, by profession. He had enough law practice and that apparently satisfied him. His books and his studies had more attraction for him than positions in the gov~rnment., The late President Quft<ln, whO knew how to select his men, offered to appoint him provincial fiscal, then judge; but cratefuUy he declined both offers. In 1946 or after liberation, President Os· mefta prevailed upon him to accept a position in the judieiary. Circumstances, however, did not permit him to remain long. It was on)y in 1964 that he finally coneented to give up his law practice and accepted his appointment by the Jate President Mag. aaysay as judce of the Court of First Instance. One of the important cases recently decided by him is that of the incumbent mayor of Angeles, Pampanga, in which the mayor, who appeared in the certifidte of canvass as having lost by one vote, asked for the recountlnc of the votes lb a certain precinct irl Angeles, basing his petition on the dis~pancy between the number of votes written in words and the number of votes written iri figures. The opposing candidate contended that auch discrepancy was not a ground for the recounting of votes because in caae of conflict between the figures and the words, the latter must prevail. Judge Santos decided the case in the sense that there was discrepancy among the election returns themselves iD so far· as the fi: gures and words of 'the number of votea was ('Oncerned, and or: dered the recounting of the votes. In the eerti0"1ri filed by the opposing candidate, the Supreme Court sustained the opinion of Judge Santos. Lawyers appearing before Judge Santos are unanimous ln their opinion . that because of bis splendid re<:o?d, his background and exPe1ience, he should be elevated to the Co.urt of Appeals. LA WYERS JOURNAL Februa?J 29, 1960

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