The UP Law School behaving like the Roman Catholic Church

How is the UP Law faculty's behaviour in the case of this so-called "plagiarism" row with the Philippine Supreme Court different from the way the Catholic Church is behaving with regard to reproductive health? Answer: Not too different. In both cases these are institutions tasked with guiding their flock -- the UP Law trains future lawyers, and the Catholic Church (RCC) for its part indoctrinates its Roman Catholic souls.

The RCC and the UP Law faculty, in dipping their fingers into the politics of these issues, are going beyond their mandate to educate/guide their flock. They have, in the process, hopelessly muddled and convoluted the national "debate" surrounding these cases. In both cases both institutions have clouded the core issues at stake: reproductive health and the plight of the comfort women respectively.

What was achieved? As usual, nothing. Where are the results? As usual, there are none. This is after all a society where doing one's job properly and achieving quietly are hopelessly alien concepts. The products of the UP Law and the RCC -- presumably good lawyers and good Catholics, respectively -- are what will be out in the front line fighting those battles. Perhaps our Law professors and Catholic priests should have thought about their true calling before they decided to be teachers and fishers of men. If they wanted to do the fighting and the negotiating, then they should have thought twice before pursuing careers in teaching and evangelising.

Perhaps too, if they had taught our lawyers well, and indoctrinated our Catholics thouroughly -- i.e., done their jobs properly as teachers and priests -- then perhaps they wouldn't be feeling the need to meddle in state affairs today.