“If there are no bad people, there are no good lawyers.” -Charles Dickens
This is one of these quotations, showing our understanding of the term lawyer, and it is no surprise that I am almost certain that many of us think of litigation whenever we hear the term. Obviously, lawyers are usually regarded only as defenders—in any sense, they are—but not so much as merely defenders as they are.
This may not be common sense, but lawyers can actually greatly affect the economic growth and development of a country. In order to eradicate poverty in a country and encourage its growth, certain skills are needed, and its people’s broad understanding of the law and comprehensive thinking are definitely part of these skills. Sadly, in the Philippines, many Filipinos lack knowledge of our laws and constitution. A good proof of this is that a survey in 2018 showed that three-quarters of Filipinos are not familiar with the 1987 Constitution, which may greatly affect our decision to vote for the proposed constitutional amendments and amendments. The constitution may directly affect the Philippine economy.
Based on the above information, the question remains: How can law firms in Manila, Philippines help improve the situation in the country?
So, before becoming our defenders, our lawyers (and law firms) first act as the protectors of the country and its citizens-will be explained further later, but first, let’s take a look at the 1992 Albuquerque What happened in a fast food restaurant. A 79-year-old woman spilled a cup of McDonald’s coffee on her leg, causing third-degree burns and requiring expensive medical treatment. She filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s and received more than $3 million in disciplinary damages. How did the jury make such a decision? First of all, we all know that coffee is hot, so isn’t it the customer’s fault? Yes, the coffee is hot, which is understandable, but at the time, McDonald’s coffee was not only “hot”, but also dangerously hot (they asked the franchise to hold its coffee at 180 to 190 degrees Fahrenheit), which is why it caused Third degree burns. If the hot drink has the highest temperature standard, burns will not occur. Here, laws, lawyers, and legislators can protect us and protect civilians in our country-by enacting laws and regulations to ensure our safety.
You see, even if this case seems a bit small, or does not seem to affect the entire country, we can look at it this way: we can all be injured, injured, or even killed, even if we are just eating in a restaurant, no matter how small the possibility is. Because of this, people either do not eat in restaurants at all, which will eventually lead to business closures and unemployment, which will affect our economy.
But thankfully, there are lawyers and legislators who can prevent these things from happening and save our country’s economic status, right? my country’s Republic Act No. 7394 or the “Philippine Consumer Law” is taking care of customer safety and business regulations, which undoubtedly enables consumers, business owners and all possible investors (local or overseas) to have the confidence to prevent business transactions or product consumption Litigation and dangerous incidents that may occur during the period.
The main goal of RA No. 7394 is to protect the interests of each consumer, promote their overall welfare, and establish a code of conduct for the country’s commerce and industry. Let us say that what happened to McDonald’s in the Philippines in 1992 is happening in the Philippines today-things will definitely be very different. First, hot coffee or any hot drink has shown a “warning”, “caution”, or frank statement, saying “causes burns”, “hot surface”, or any other similar phrases, and precautions describing actions to follow or prevent. Yes, many of us may have seen these warnings, and you are right, this is because creating proper labels for food, beverages and hazardous substances or substances is one of the things included in the Philippine Consumer Law.
Seeing this label, an old woman will be more careful when handling a cup of coffee, and the chance of preventing accidents will be greater. Or McDonald’s will consider the welfare of customers and comply with certain regulations, so they will not be prosecuted, saving them millions of cash. This is the protection we all need, and it is also an example of lawyers playing an important role in the country’s economic growth. If the law and lawyers can make consumers and businessmen feel cautious and safe, then companies will feel less risky when establishing a business, and consumers will not be afraid when they consume commercial products-this greatly helps the country.
Okay, so in the food and commercial industries, we are safe, but can our lawyers provide it? Absolutely not! Familiar with medical malpractice? You are right, we will also discuss this issue-how it affects our country, and how lawyers and law firms are connected to these things.
What is a medical malpractice? According to the Philippine Anti-Medical Malpractice Act of 2004, “malfeasance” refers to any doctor (doctor, dentist, nurse, pharmacist and favorite, including medical and dental technicians, nursing assistants and therapists).
The most important purpose of the medical profession is to protect the lives and well-being of the people, and medical negligence can cause either of the two, or worse. Sadly, no matter how important, it proves that medical malpractice is one of the more complicated civil cases in the Philippines. In addition to having sufficient knowledge and understanding of medical procedures, it is also necessary to fully meet the legal requirements of the law. In order to successfully litigate a medical malpractice, the patient must prove the four elements of medical negligence: responsibility (professional connection between the doctor and the patient), violation (violation of other similarly required care standards), and the performance of trained medical professionals under the same conditions) , Injury (must be the direct result of the doctor’s breach of contract) and proximate cause (the relationship between the doctor’s negligence and the resulting damage to the patient).
Due to these technical reasons, the country’s medical tourism may be affected, and tourism work may be affected. In 2015, the International Healthcare Research Center and the Medical Tourism Association (a non-profit organization for the global medical tourism and international patient industries) collected a list, and the Philippines ranked eighth because of its status as the top medical industry. Vacation destination. Our country provides treatment to approximately 250,000 foreign patients every year. If medical malpractice is still difficult to prove, this number may decrease.
Compared with the United States, certain medical procedures in the Philippines are much cheaper, allowing patients to save up to 90 yuan in total costs. Although this reason alone is sufficient to attract foreign customers, better laws, guidelines and implementation will provide additional security and help attract more customers. More clients means more jobs, more institutions and more income-our country can rely on lawyers, companies and legislators to make this field better.
Speaking of business and income, let’s talk about the commercial monopoly in our country. Monopoly basically refers to an industry controlled by a company, company or entity. Yes, we have many monopolies in the Philippines (think telecommunications and energy companies, the largest banks and retail), but the biggest monopoly in the Philippines is still the government itself. How does commercial monopoly affect my country’s economy and development? This is the last thing we discuss in this article.
In 2015, the Philippines passed the Competition Law or RA10667, which became my country’s main competition policy to promote and protect the competitive market. Surprisingly, this law is still “new”, which is why the monopoly still exists and, to this day, hindered its growth. Having a market with many competition/competitors can be great for a country-the price and quality of each product or service will continue to increase because one country wants to be better than another. There will be many job opportunities. Many people will be employed and the poverty rate can be reduced.
However, the sad fact is that despite the constitutional outlines (section 19 and 12 of the 1987 Constitution, and Article 2 of the 1973 Constitution, Article 14) regarding monopoly, the implementation of these laws is still going on, and therefore the country suffers. The Philippines is one of the most stringent markets in ASEAN. Therefore, for this reason, the country has no sense of competition, resulting in poor services and high fees, such as:
- Has the slowest Internet rate and the highest telecommunication tariff.
- Compared with neighboring countries, transportation costs are more expensive.
- We are one of the most expensive power companies in the world.
But let us not lose hope. The Chairman of the Philippine Competition Commission announced that the current policy is currently being improved and the national competition policy is being finalized. The NCP is an administrative order that establishes a comprehensive structure to guide regulations and regulatory procedures to promote free and fair market competition.
Enacting better and more comprehensive laws and improving the people are things that top lawyers can do in the future. They also play an important role in improving the old laws and regulations. All these can definitely improve our country and promote its growth and development.
