PCIJ: Lucrative lawyering on Election Day

PCIJ: IT’S a lucrative day for many lawyers today. That is for those who are not doing volunteer poll-watching work. Through the years, elections have become less of a battleground between ladies and gentlemen, prompting candidates to hire lawyers even long before they file their certificates of candidacy. And in many cases, it is a paperless, tax-less transaction. The job description can range from the simplest to the most complex. Some lawyers are hired just to be on call on election day in case legal problems arise in polling precincts. Others are hired full time from campaign day up to proclamation day. A lawyer reveals he was hired by a senatorial candidate in 2004 to serve for three days beginning on the eve of the elections until Tuesday, when the canvassing at the precinct level wraps up. The fee was P15,000 per day for a total of P45,000. “We were just required to know by heart the section on the appreciation of ballots and to read up on pre-proclamation controversies," says Joel, who works for one of the country’s biggest firm. He says the senatorial candidate’s lead legal counsel held a briefing for him and a hundred other lawyers. It was a very organized meeting with handouts on election rules, a directory of party heads at the provincial and regional level, and an explanation on what their work consisted. Joel’s fee was handed to him after the briefing. The transaction did not involve contracts, signatures or receipts. “Malaking pera ang involved. Iyan ang raket na inaabangan ng mga abogado kapag eleksyon (Big money is involved and lawyers wait for elections because of this)," he says. Joel’s duty consisted of going to his home province north of Manila and being on call for problems during the counting. He says no one checked if he really showed up for work. “The rule was honor among thieves. It’s a matter of trust," he explains. Joel says this election, the going rate for lawyers has risen to P30,000 per day. He did not see action this year, saying the offers he received would have had him working in election hotspots. “I didn’t even dare ask how much the fee was. It’s risky, and I may get shot if it would involve filing an electoral protest," he says. A political strategist who was privy to the campaign of some politicians in 2004 says that for a hotly-contested mayoralty post in Metro Manila, candidates set aside from P2 million to 10 million for legal fees. He says law firms charged from P50,000 to P300,000 as acceptance fee, and an additional P1 million for election work. For senatorial candidates, a lead lawyer forms a legal team composed of junior lawyers and paralegals in crucial towns. The political strategist says the lead lawyer and junior lawyer are paid P10,000 to P40,000 per day depending on their caliber, while paralegals may cost the candidate P1,5000 to P3,000 per day. “Nobody will tell you the truth," he says about a candidate’s legal fees. A law firm senior partner confirms legal fees are highest in Metro Manila and hotspot areas. He pegs the minimum at P500,000 for the full range of service, from training poll watchers, handling election day concerns, up to post-canvassing problems. The number goes higher, depending on the risk involved. Another lawyer recalls receiving P10,000 per day for the barangay elections in the nineties. But friendship and college fraternity bonds among lawyers are also at work during elections. Some lawyers admit to accepting just P5,000 to help fraternity members. Joel says a lawyer’s appearance fee is at a regulated rate of P2,000 at most. And if a candidate wins, lawyers also get a bonus, depending on the generosity of the candidate. “It’s still lawyering and there’s nothing irregular about it, except that it doesn’t follow the suggested rate for lawyers set by the IBP (Integrated Bar of the Philippines)," Joel says.