May 19, 2015

REFLECTION PAPER
The majority of our people if not all of them believed that the true meaning of
justice is that men who allegedly committed wrongful acts must be put in jail
regardless of their innocence. That is the justice ala pinoy style no more, no less.
Is it not correct that our laws tell us that men alleged to have committed crimes
should be presumed innocent until proven guilty?
However, on the ground, this is not the case. Injustices are prevalent in most
of the correctional facilities in the country. One of the said injustices that plague our
prisons is jail congestion. This fact has been one of my reasons why I want to
become a lawyer in Gods perfect time. That is why I joined the summer internship
program of HLAF, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to go down to the grassroots and
empathize with the detainees and prisoners who are victims of various injustices
themselves. HLAF is a non-governmental organization that caters the legal needs of
detainees and prisoners alike. As a student of law, we learned that justice system
should apply to all class of society. As the clich goes, Justice is for everyone!
However, my eyes were painfully opened to the bitter truth that our prisoners are
being neglected and their fundamental rights violated.
In my various jail visits as an intern of HLAF, I have talked to some of the
prisoners and listened to their heartbreaking stories. While they emotionally narrate
their life inside the kulungan I could hardly contain myself of the truth that slowly
unfold in front of me. Indeed, one thing is for sure, the system that manages our
penal institutions is flawed. My one month of internship in HLAF exposed me to the
reality that jails in the country are, in fact, not following standards that uplift the
lives of the prisoners but instead worsen them. Indeed, with certainty, I am longing
for the time that our jail system will be facelifted and that living conditions of the
prisoners inside the jail improved.
Besides the disappointing facts about our flawed and outdated jail system in
the country that I learned while being an HLAF intern, I also got the chance to meet
wonderful people along the way. One of them is Kuya Iyok, I admire his dedication to
help the prisoners and detainees that in need of legal assistance. It is Kuya Iyok too,
that made me realize that alternative lawyering is the way to go when Ill become a
lawyer soon.
Well, talking about alternative lawyering it is a brand of lawyering that I am
not quite familiar with. Because in our province where I came from, lawyers more
often than not, project themselves with luxurious coat and tie. It is in this manner
that I saw how the law profession should be or so I thought it should. Thankful as I
am, the internship in HLAF illuminated me to the concept of alternative lawyering. A
lawyering with and for the people and in this case, with and for the inmates who are
victims of injustice inside jail.
In just one month span of exposure, I felt like a changed woman full of
desire to help the underprivileged and looking forward to practice the alternative
side of lawyering. A brand of lawyering that does not aim to gain profit but aims to
fulfill self-contentment. I can only say the best for the people behind HLAF, indeed,
they are an inspiration to every law students who aspire to practice the noble
profession of lawyering.
The experiences I had during the internship are all fruitful and I cant wait to
share this passion to my fellow law students back home. I am also excited to apply
the things I learned in HLAF in our human rights center, Centro Advocacia Legal,
Inc., a non-profit, non-stock organization that aims to promote human rights in
Zamboanga peninsula. While I recollect my experiences as an HLAF intern, all that
flash to me are the memories that will help me attain my dream to become a lawyer
who selflessly renders legal services with the people.
As the summer internship in HLAF comes to a near end, I will guarantee that
the learnings I attained in the one-month program will not go to waste. I shall instill

the HLAF advocacy to my fellow law students in Zamboanga City and to the
community people as a whole.
After having substantiated my narration of experiences and how fruitful they
are to me as a person. Allow me to dig further to the issues I see fit to be discussed
with. Just like the lapses and shortcomings of our Government in maintaining the
standard living of inmates inside jail facilities. What takes it so long for the
Government to take action?
I may blame the corruption that lingers the bureaucracy since time
immemorial. I can also put the blame on the incompetency of the people manning
the government and I can continue the blame game till I finish out of reasons but
one thing is for sure, the correctional institutions are in great need of improvement.
Another thing I want to address is the notion that inmates dont deserve
equal rights enjoyed by free men. I so disagree. The Constitution unequivocally
declares that everyone should be afforded equal protection of the law and such
comes with it the equal enjoyment of fundamental rights conferred by no less than
the fundamental law itself. As an HLAF intern, I am longing to educate my
community back in Zamboanga and I hope that will be a starting point of my aim to
correct this wrong notion.
HLAF not only taught me that inmates should be afforded their rights. I was
also taught to respect the rule of law. Indeed, rule of law is vital in achieving justice
for there will be no justice if there will be no one adhering to the law itself. The very
ends of justice is attained not by tyranny but through observance of the law. That
makes our society a civilized one.
As an intern of HLAF, my burning desire to push through with the study of law
intensified. Not only that I looked forward to pass the bar I am also excited to
practice the alternative side of lawyering and materialize the things I learned from
HLAF. I am now an upcoming 3 rd year law student and with the knowledge I acquired
from this internship I am sure that I will be going to greater heights.
Ergo, as a final remark, let me extend my warmest thanks to the staff of
HLAF, who in one way or another, showed sincere hospitality not only to me but to
all of the HLAF interns. Once again, Daghan Salamat! (Thank you very much!)

Shannon Mae O. Canoy