legalese

a while back, a good friend arrived at the office with a story about her commuting adventure. my friend lives somewhere in qc and takes the quiapo-espana route going home. the day before, the rain was crazy so getting an fx was also crazy, and so she was mighty relieved when she finally got on one and was finally on her way home.

somewhere along quiapo, however, the fx driver all ordered them to get off as he had decided to cut short his trip. well aware that it was going to be doubly hard to get a ride in quiapo, and sensing that no one else was going to stand up for the group, my lawyer-friend piped up and said, "manong, bawal po yung ginagawa niyo."

i can't remember the entire conversation now, but basically she informed him that under a contract of carriage, he was obliged to carry them all the way to the promised destination and that he will be liable should he fail to do that. the man then asked where's her proof, where's that law, to which my friend smartly replied, "nasa office ko po. bukas puntahan niyo, para tamang-tama ipapa-aresto ko na kayo."

now, that provision does exist, but it's in the civil code, so there's no way that the man will be arrested and jailed if he does refuse to continue on with the trip. however, that was sufficient enough for him to shut up the rest of the way (albeit mumbling under his breath) and my oh-so-smart friend found her way home with no difficulty after that.

i've always wondered when i'd be able to do something of that nature and it presented itself yesterday. i can't exactly disclose the details here, but let's just say i used the words "subpoena" quite liberally.

*btw - here's my official lawyer pic. don't you just love it? hahaha.