The Relevance of ADR in the Efficient and Effective Administration of Justice

Alternative Dispute Resolution as a legal process

The court is the primary haven for justice. In the ideal sense, it ought to be. We go to court to invoke and defend a right, demand for recompense and equity, obtain a redress for a wrong done to us, or simply seek for that much-coveted sense of justice.

But justice through judicial process has nowadays been becoming elusive. The stakes and risks of going to court vis-a-vis the possibility of victory shows a stunning discrepancy. While the stakes are high, the possibility of a positive outcome is very slim. For most of us, going to court is plain-square a risky battle. As one author succinctly puts it, “litigation is a long-winded road to hell.”

Gone are the days though when we could only wish for more practical and sensible options to go about our legal concerns. Before we could frown at the slimming trace of hope for better chances, the process of Alternative Dispute Resolution began knocking into the doors of the legal system.

A process known as Alternative Dispute Resolution, or ADR, has emerged as a practical substitute for litigation. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is an increasingly popular option that allows people to resolve disputes outside of court in a cooperative manner. ADR has proven to be faster, cheaper and less stressful than going to court. Most importantly, the use of ADR can provide greater satisfaction with the way disputes are resolved.

In our present Philippine legal system, the use of ADR is remarkably gaining importance. Philippine courts are actively facilitating and utilizing the expediency of Court-Annexed Mediation and Judicial Dispute Resolution processes.

The passage of the ADR Act of 2004 (RA 9285) gave force to the diversion of pending court cases to an outside forum. The ADR Act of 2004 declares the State policy to actively promote party autonomy in the resolution of disputes or the freedom of the parties to make their own arrangements to resolve their disputes, and encourages the use of arbitration and other modes of dispute resolution to achieve speedy and impartial justice and declog court dockets. These same objectives were declared in the Special ADR Rules stressing on the use of ADR, particularly arbitration and mediation, as an important means to achieve speedy and efficient resolution of disputes, impartial justice, curb a litigious culture, and to de-clog court dockets.
Sec. 3 of RA 9285 or the "Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004" defines the ADR System, to wit:

"Alternative Dispute Resolution System" means any process or procedure used to resolve a dispute or controversy, other than by adjudication of a presiding judge of a court or an officer of a government agency, as defined in this Act, in which a neutral third party participates to assist in the resolution of issues, which includes arbitration, mediation, conciliation, early neutral evaluation, mini-trial, or any combination thereof.”

The most common forms of ADR are Arbitration and Mediation. In most ADR processes, a trained and impartial person decides or helps the parties reach resolution of their dispute together. Arbitration is a procedure whereby parties submit their controversy to a disinterested person or persons who make a binding determination. It is a substitution, by consent of parties, of another tribunal for the tribunals provided by the ordinary processes of law.

Mediation, on the one hand, is a form of ADR in which an impartial third-party facilitator, the mediator, assists the disputing parties in reaching a consensual agreement. Because this agreement is voluntary, it tends to have greater commitment and compliance than something imposed from the outside. Mediation is more accessible and understandable to the layperson, less adversarial, expensive, and time-consuming, and more likely to produce an outcome that matches the interests of the disputants.

Legal disputes that are covered by ADR include family and civil issues, commercial and consumer disputes, environmental issues, intra-institutional differences, intergovernmental conflicts, and even international confrontations. The broad scope of ADR-facilitated issues signifies the prevalence, portability and growing need of the use of ADR in our present legal system.

The advantages of ADR as means of resolving disputes are note-worthy. And a thorough look into these advantages would lead us into appreciating how ADR in works and aids in the efficient and effective administration of justice.

ADR as a speedy and expeditious process of resolving disputes

ADR, through arbitration or mediation, is often quicker than going to trial. A dispute may be resolved in a matter or days or weeks instead of months or years. It is not uncommon for lawsuits to take several years to conclude. ADR progresses much more rapidly and in some instances may even transpire in hours. The time spent in fact-finding and awaiting a trial is typically much less than in litigation. This extra time enables parties to focus their attention on normal business operations and less on legal disputes.

ADR is also a much less formal process than a trial. The parties can agree upon, or an arbitrator can impose, procedural rules that are better tailored to resolution of the particular dispute, often making the process more flexible and rational than litigation.
And even if a case winds up going to trial, using ADR may significantly narrow the issues that need to be litigated, ultimately making the trial quicker and less expensive.

Nonetheless, there is a denial of justice when civil disputes are resolved by a trial court for five years on the average. The fact is trial court dockets are hopelessly clogged. And there are more cases being filed than are being resolved. These realities are downright debilitating.
The length of time court litigation usually takes can be discouraging on the part of the litigants who desire to have immediate answers and resolutions to their concerns. With the prevailing judicial system nowadays, it is often likely a miracle to obtain justice in a considerable short period of time. And such long period of waiting and going through the winding process could take its toll on the party-litigants. Thus, ADR is without a glitch a better option, if not the most practical one.

ADR as a cost-saving device for resolving disputes

ADR provides a cost-saving measure for going about the resolution of disputes. Litigation can generate high costs for filing fees, discovery and trial costs, attorney’s fees and legal fees. ADR involves expenses including payment of an administrative fee and fees for any ADR sessions. However, even after payment of these fees and attendant preparation costs, ADR costs are generally far less than those of a trial. Since the period for hearing and decision is fairly short, legal costs are also considerably reduced.

The financial constraints of party-litigants could disempower them in their attempt to advance their cause in courts which call for various and indispensable expenses. With ADR, they need not have to waste money to ensure the progress and eventual disposition of their case. This is simply because the venue for prompt and speedy resolution of their disputes through the processes of arbitration and mediation would certainly entail less expenditures on their part.
ADR as an efficient and participant-friendly mode of resolving disputes
ADR, in the ordinary course of its process, clearly permits more participation and empowerment from the parties. It allows the parties the opportunity to tell their side of the story and have more control over the outcome. It enables them to ease tension and avoid anxiety in going about the advancement of each of their concerns and causes. Because of the privacy of the proceedings, the parties and even the witnesses do not become so tense and nervous and are better able to share their stories.

It also allows parties for flexibility in choice of ADR processes and resolution of the dispute. At the same time, it fosters cooperation by allowing the parties to work together with the neutral and between themselves to resolve the dispute and mutually agree to a remedy. At such, ADR is often less stressful than litigation. It frees the parties from the inevitable strains, pressures and hassles of court litigation.

ADR as a viable instrument of justice

The most compelling force of ADR as a means of resolving disputes is its propensity to give the parties to a dispute a greater possibility of achieving a win-win situation for both of them. It is how the parties are provided with an appropriate venue that empowers them to negotiate and compromise with each other’s primary concerns and contentions. The parties are given a reasonable leeway in controlling the outcome of their dispute-resolution process. Whatever transpires in the processes they go through, they can always have the option to bargain and make concessions that would be beneficial to both of them.

The winner-take-all system defies logic, encourages lying, and generally brings out the worst in all the participants. A settlement is never imposed by an outside party as is the case in arbitration. And it is that so-called amicable settlement that marks the success of the process and ultimately grant to either party the better end of the deal.

The process in ADR is really simple. That fact is indisputable. There is hardly any question why one would not resort to arbitration or mediation when the case qualifies as a subject for such processes. It becomes a matter only then of how the parties can take advantage of the simplicity, flexibility and practicality of the procedure, and utilize it for the advancement of their causes in order to attain a rewarding outcome for each of them. The most important thing is that ADR gives them greater satisfaction on how their dispute is resolved, and achieving no less a win-win situation for both of them.

ADR as a relevant tool in the effective and efficient administration of justice

The numerous advantages of ADR and how it remarkably contributes to our legal system are explicit. The proceeding is speedy without sacrificing the right of parties to due process of law. The reception of the evidence submitted by the parties usually employ a fast-track process. The testimony of witness is produced in the form of affidavits and counter-affidavits. The right to counsel and the right to cross-examine witnesses are respected and observed. The strict and rigid application of the rules of evidence under the law concede to a liberal construction thereby allowing parties a considerable leeway in advancing their causes.

In arbitration, the parties have the power, by agreement, to make their own arrangements in resolving their disputes. This is not possible in court litigation, where rigid rules of procedure are observed. Also, the proceedings, including the records, evidence and the arbitral award, being confidential, may not be published except with the consent of the parties or for the limited purpose of disclosing to the court relevant documents in cases where resort to the court is allowed.

The Supreme Court, for its part, has expressly promoted resort to arbitration as a preferred mode of dispute resolution. In several decided cases, the Supreme Court recognized arbitration to be an inexpensive, speedy and amicable method of settling commercial disputes and helps unclog judicial dockets.

The Supreme Court has admonished courts to liberally construe arbitration clauses, and viewed the brushing aside of a contractual agreement calling for arbitration between the parties as a step backward. It, thus, laid down the doctrine that, provided an arbitration clause is susceptible to an interpretation that covers the asserted dispute, an order to arbitrate should be granted and any doubt should be resolved in favor of arbitration.

Indeed, ADR has provided us with a relevant tool in resolving disputes. And it is hardly any doubt that ADR has paved the way to a more efficient and effective administration of justice.

In a nutshell, ADR means faster resolution of cases. Faster resolution of cases means justice in a matter of hours or days. ADR means unclogging court dockets. Unclogging court dockets means justice for many people in a big way.

True enough, justice delayed is justice denied. And with ADR in hand as a viable tool in speedily and satisfactorily resolving disputes, justice is never elusive anymore but soundly real.

Catching reasons..

Just when you run with reasons no more, you go stumble into pieces of yourself that slowly come into shape on its own all over again.

For a while I’ve been desperate for reasons. I guess that’s the price you have to pay for many things about studying the law. You are trained to think with reasons. Even if they are scarce, you employ magic just so you can have one or two to justify anything worth-standing for. Yet many times, your rational system just won’t elicit any. And you’re forced to settle. Yes, settle is the word in legal parlance. And settle is a fitting word in layman’s term too.

And so when I was seemingly in dire need of reasons..good and plausible ones..practical and motivating in any way, I knew I only had to settle then. And the results were no less, as luckily always has been, surprisingly remarkable. I’m thankful I chose to settle, not in the compromising sense of the word but that I had only to look into my tiny pocket of steadfastness.

The child, barely in her growing innocence, seemingly had so much to take at such a fragile age. It was my first practical and actual take of a child abuse case. Yes I know, even without skimming thru the law itself, what child abuse is --- that cliché social predicament of our times. But there is really nothing like a hands-on take on the matter. And so I braced myself for quite a story the child had to share. But the trauma and fear showed on those tiny sad-looking eyes staring straight back at me. She couldn’t utter the words that would describe what her good gracious father did to her. I guess the meekness speaks enough then.

And I was brought back to my senses.

Apart from the new legal lessons I earned while doing the task, I was taken aback by the arrows hitting me from all over. The arrows of reasons. That encounter with a child abuse victim brought me back to my senses. That encounter with a child abuse victim gave me reasons a thousandfold then again all over.

Practice Court Bloopers

So we thought a Practice Court subject as part of our curriculum is just what we need to prepare us for our own practice (hopefully as soon as we become lawyers) someday. So we thought. Sarcasm aside, we ought to think so.

After going through the summer-long stint of court visits, we sure had quite enough real-life court action experience. And then again we thought that should make wonders for us and allow us to breeze through our regular Practice court classes. Until it was time for us to have a role-play portraying an actual court session. Not like we were not aware ages ago that we will be tasked to do just. Much as it did not come to a surprise to us, our trademark carefree attitudes and bloating confidences didn’t come handy at all.

What was expected to be a very formal, serious and stiff showcase of a court session, in only a matter of seconds from the start of the action, turned out to be a really funny and spontaneous comedic act.

And so did the very lucky first group made its way to entertain us. And indeed entertain the entire pack of us inside our neatly-staged moot court. Nothing really does compare to raw and practical humor.

There went the group, looking a bit tense but seemingly in control. The Clerk of Court stood up, acknowledged the entry of the judge while making the necessary remarks for opening the session. And then our professor went ‘No! No! No!’. Each of them, clueless of what went wrong, feverishly eyed each other for possible mistakes. And bang! bang! The gavel went on and off and on. Was it the number of times the gavel was struck? And that dear classmate who played the judge while trying to figure how many times to strike the gavel gave all of us a very cute puzzled innocent laugh-mode look.

My knees were literally shaking not from the freezing temperature of the room but because I could really no longer brace myself for that moment’s moment.

This or that definitely is going down history’s lane as one if not one of the fondest comedic act I’ve ever experienced inside a class room. The likes of me could easily be tickled by teachers and professors’ funny stories or crazy antics but that court session role-play was topping the list. And that is without a doubt.

I’m just glad it wasn’t yet our turn to humiliate ourselves but who cares really, when we all know we surely all will take our spots then. I’ll just have my fingers crossed for a fun one or a funnier one.

The Faces of a Law Professor

Without a doubt, the best and the worst images of teachers you’ll ever find are the ones in law school. They may be the best because they are either downright smart asses by the look or simply oozing with sheer intellectual grace. Yet they may be the worst because they have in them innately the propensity to bust your ego or ruin your much-cultured self-esteem.

For one, they sure know how to overwhelm you with their wits. Many times, in those nerve-wrecking moments of intimate class discussions, I can’t help but be mesmerized by their seemingly flawless tongue. The words come out of their system swiftly like how the laws by themselves are neatly embedded in the codes. Yes, there are professors who, through years of practicing the law profession, have nonetheless become indubitable masters. Learning law with them is indeed a treat. Thus, making the embarrassing bouts during class recitations all worth-it.


While some do know how to charm you in learning law, others can inevitably create your worst nightmares ever. Yes, there are those teachers who could care less about sympathy and kindness. In fact, majority or most of the professors in law school are of the kind. The so-called ‘terror’ does have its roots. The moments you’ll have inside a classroom with a terror teacher would need no recounting I should say. Then you’d keep wishing the one hour or two hour period would magically transpire in just a matter of seconds. But learning the law with these professors are nonetheless more than a treat. You will definitely have a blast.


Apart from the traditional style of teaching, some professors do know how to create a little drama in there. They can be great actors, really. While the sternness and madness shows in just a squint of an eye or a wrinkle in the forehead for many, there are those who have the knack in employing reverse psychology. That is, they would threaten you not with their cruelty and harshness but would rather twist your mind with their silly antics and funny tricks.

The tremble and tone of their voices do speak a mile also. A yelling professor will surely break not just your eardrums but your frail heart as well. That is why they say law school is not for the soft-hearted freaks. But I look up to those soft-spoken ones who even in the timidity of their voices still make out the most interesting and enriching lectures inside the classroom.


The eloquence does dazzle the eager-learners. The credibility that exudes in them does spell utter respect and admiration, nowithstanding their being justices, judges, and lawyers. And at the semester’s end, I could only listen in awe and silently applaud in my seat.

A Peek Inside a Philippine courtroom

We had to sport that dignifying stance of a law student. Our decency and courtesy have doubled or tripled its form and showmanship. Kidding aside, we only have to bring ourselves in there, follow certain courtroom standard policies, and a little dress code too. So long as we don’t make too much noise, we are off the handcuffs and the scorn looks of the detained prisoners, as well as the prying eyes of the police officers and the terror nudge of our professor-judges.

This summer, we were set to accomplish 60 hours of court observation. I wasn’t quite sure then if the idea of it sounded like a treat but we were practically without a choice. That task technically is part of the requirements of the Practice Court subject in our fourth year. Yes, we were obliged to observe various courtrooms in Regional Trial Courts and Municipal Trial Courts. The task sure did gave us quite an idea how a typical courtroom in the Philippines is like, and how a typical day transpires inside the court.

A typical courtroom is indeed like a sala, that Spanish word for living room. No wonder it is referred to as the judge’s sala. Some of which we’ve visited are neatly clad and organized from the gavel’s spot to the end pew. Some have lockers where files are well-kept, while there were some who you could mistake for an archive section in a very old museum or library. There was one in particular we’d fondly call a kindergarten or prep classroom, with a pink bamboo bench in front, the row just next to where the lawyers are, and some cute decorations and posters all over. Another court had a collection or motorcycles in it, we would jestingly guess if those were for attached properties or just a hobby of the police officers. And that microwave near the judge’s desk, we couldn’t figure what really was that for. Yes, we were never really that observant. Whatever the courtroom looks like, we’d say it does speak much about the judge’s personality.

Furtively, we dare anticipate no less but to get to witness hard-core courtroom drama. Ergo, the ones we’ve witnessed were not made for Hollywood films. Not that we were desperate to witness one nor disappointed though because there where days during that 3-week stint which were quite eventful and exciting enough. I wouldn’t forget the day I sat beside an accused in a murder case. Later did I figure that the young man, looking like in his early twenties, beside me in that packed pew who I was stroking arms with, was the accused himself. I was too stupid then, but maybe just unmindful as what is characteristic of me, to notice the handcuffs on him and that yellow-coded shirt of a detained prisoner. While the medico-legal expert witness was testifying about how the victim could have been possibly strangled, I could care less making faces and whispering remarks on my classmate seated at my back. Only when she gave me that glaring warning look did I realize that the edgy young man beside me was the accused in that case. And so from then on, I had to learn to tame myself. I wouldn’t forget the stare he gave me at one point. In those uneventful sessions, we would often find ourselves giggling over some little or major bloopers --- from the judge’s scary demeanors, the prosecutors’ and lawyers’ weird antics, to the various faces and emotions of every witness who boldly takes the winess stand.

As was our objective, we had a take on the different courtroom processes: arraignment, pre-trial, trial where there is presentation of evidence or witness, promulgation of judgment, hearing on motions, amongst many. The new process, called a Judicial Dispute Resolution, which entails a practical way of resolving cases through mediation and compromise, is now being highly-encouraged and practiced by the courts. There were times as well when some of our professor-judges would take us to their chambers after the session to enlighten us on some matters.

The court observation activity didn’t literally give us a blast but it sure was a worthy venture for lawyer wannabe’s like us. We’d quite miss those friendly court personnel who kindly accommodated us during those visits, and who never tired in sparing for us those court calendars before we could think of taking them off the bulletin boards . Thus, the 60-hour task in a span of three weeks was a mission accomplished.

Getting by law school in the Philippines

After quite a journey in the academe with graces galore and a distressing job-hopping adventure in the corporate world, I entered law school with half-baked idealism and some neat doses of practicality, not to further mention the innate cynicism running in my veins. Like all lawyer wannabe’s, I took the simple philosophy that I’m entering law school with nothing to lose and everything to gain. After about three years in law school, much has changed, not in my lifestyle but in my views about many things and life in general. My half-baked idealism has receded to rawness. My twangs of practicality have found solace in sheer cynicism.

While it is mainly really an academic playground in there, the tests are far tormenting in the spirits than they are in the brains. It really is a strife. More than the academic test of pen and paper, it is one of plain wits, of patience and endurance. It is a test of character. The bouts of insanity should be normal though. When you’ve loads and loads of pages to chase, you’d nonchalantly mistake blue from green. When you’ve grueling sessions to partake in, you’d easily find refuge in the silliest and corniest jokes on earth.
The grueling exams which are essay-types are downright stressful to begin with. The utter subjectivity does take its toll too. Countless times you’d be left in awe receiving your exam booklets. Just when you are all confident about your answers, sometimes they are never good enough for your professors or the examiners. Then I started wishing for Multiple Choice exams then. But that sure would make the exams double, triple harder than they already are.

The daily torture of recitations are sure main events. The jitters you get are just like the ones you get before a Pacman fight, or even worse. I would have my way of recounting the nerve-wracking experiences but I would rather dwell on the hundreds and thousands of bloopers and comedic acts me and my batchmates have unmindly shared. The silly answers you spill out because of helplessness and dire humiliation, nothing would really compare with those. The pressures of having an honorable judge or a respectable lawyer throwing seemingly endless questions on your frail body, is really no joke at all. So thus they say, law school has no room for the soft-hearted.

The culture has quite some share of the system too. I’ve come around some fellows or transferees who recounted how they thought they have been unjustly kicked out of their former schools. They talk about teachers hating them for reasons in the wrong side of the spectrum or what they’d fondly refer to as politically-motivated ones. So if your father, mother, brother, sister, aunt or uncle, or any close relative is in bad blood with say your teacher, you’ d probably know just what to expect. You might just want to anticipate quite a reception for that or the teacher’s pet surely will steal off the spotlight from you. Yes, law school is not spared from the shunning favoritism syndrome. I’ve seen professors being outrightly nice and pleasant to some students for reasons you’d not bother ask about.

There are also organizations, fraternities and sororities who’d welcome you with open arms and imbibe you with some neat lofty ideals. They sometimes are a huge help socially especially when you’re a newbie around. They can be your sources of notes and materials too. But whether they can be a lot of help, that really depends on you and how you can take advantage of whatever resources they can impart.

Barely graduating from this field, I have yet to learn more as to how unpredictable law school is. And while I’m left desperately trying to spare my common sense and conscience from this tormenting environment, I should indeed keep crossing my fingers for answers and all the more clamor for justice.

The thing is, when you have the right attitude and the right amount of discipline in your system, great are the chances you’d breeze through law school. Then again, there’s too many factors and one of them is chance.

popping out..

after roughly nine months and a week, the kiddo is finally out..the family’s first newborn is a bouncing baby girl..hardly no doubt she is my brother’s gracious daughter with her huge nose and crinkling forehead features (if emphasis be need put..:>)..

what a delight she is to everyone..being the first grandchild, she does get all the unwanting attention..

and while i’ve been in jest plotting out her exile to planet Pluto via TNT rocketing its way out, i’m all tamed at one glance at her..just mesmerized..amazed at the sight of such a beautiful tiny creature..

welcome aboard mary cassidy!..

pals worth-reminiscing..

true enough, there’s people you’d meet who you thought the least would become your friends but surprisingly..in very uncompromising ways, they become what you least expect them to be..

not my habit to drop names so i’ll just rhetorically label them..

there was this silly carefree peyups blockmate of mine (didn’t i just say i wouldn’t drop names..right) he always carries with him his silly and ridiculous antics..the kind of dude who’d find such pure delight in annoying and vexing people around him..if you’re a newbie in the envi or a first-timer then, you’d naturally be pissed..but for strange reasons though, his egoistic tricks wouldn’t get into my frail veins..despite how hard he laughs out his face over my sometimes weird demeanor or my jurassic ways, i just have a way of blocking him off..at one point, he confesses how he enjoys vexing me because it doesn’t seem to bother me at all..and i could only look back at him with my own mischievous grimace..and i guess he knows we understood each other then, even if rarely do we sit back and talk like normal good friends do..

and that mean girl..(right, pardon the adjective but nothing any more befitting eheh..a blockmate too way back peyups days..)..the kind you’d treasure not for many reasons but for little but really good and classy ones..the kind that you’d carry with you and reckon with yearning..she hated me so much for reasons i woudn’t know then..she wasn’t even candid about how she felt towards me but unforgivingly upfront about it..it was more than enough when she even managed to pinpoint me in an open forum with a group that amongst us, it was i she doesn’t like..i really wouldn’t know what exactly she was meaning then but it did bother me for a while..not because i wasn’t aware that i was nowhere near likeable..i’ve learned my lesson early on that you never can please everybody ergo, i really didn’t need her to teach me that lesson..but something in her indifference towards me made me wonder enough..not that it was totally getting into my nerves..but even so, i mustered enough courage to brush her aside..just blocked her off my way silently til then..never bothered to change an inch of me just because so (not everyone sees it but i have this silent meanness in me too..)..and so i kept my distance..two years after sharing the same classroom..who would have thought, that mean girl became one of my trusted pals (the coolest on a lighter note i should say)..the pivotal moment happened when our block was having a practice for a dance number..we both got tired at the same time so we sat at the sides..just the two of us..couldn’t figure how awkward that moment was but it sure did pave the way to a meaningful friendship..one of the best conversations really..then on, we didn’t’ become inseparable (we still went with different sets of friends..) but time to time, in between those frantic college stretch and strife, we’d always find a way to sit back and talk like we were the bestest of friends..sure, time does have its way of fixing things up..

the reminiscing has turn melancholic..good ole buddies..cutting out..:>

in the middle of somewhere..

just kicking off the summer shoes..

i’m nowhere in a fancy beach resort..nor in an exotic island..(not that i’m not wishing for it though..daydreaming ain’t gonna take you anywhere anyhow..) just in the middle of somewhere..

that somewhere is just somewhere away from home..and that’s quite a treat for itself..though nothing extraordinary, just away form the usual..

then again, you start reckoning..those things you thought you can’t live without, you actually can..

that somewhere is in a tiny abode in this small town..life down here is literally quiet, peaceful and slow.. good slow, that is..

and while everyone on earth is heating up..it’s nice to be out here, just dilly-dallying..loitering..taking those slow walks..in the middle of somewhere..

expired xmas blues..

it’s cliché but it really is the most wonderful time of the year..for one sole reason, it should be..

but in this age and time, hardly does Christmas feel like one when it does come around..i guess the reasons for celebrating it have come in a myriad ways..i need not bring out the cynic in me to justify my thoughts..it’s what separates kids from grown-ups..though there’s really no harm in being a kid at heart..or maybe i’m just then again sulking into my fondest yet gone-are-those-days childhood Christmas fantasies and adventures..those days our parents used to trick us on so-called Santa gifts..it was one Eureka moment the day we figured that the toys we would be having come Christmas eve were above our aparador..ergo, there really is no Santa Clause..i wouldn’t know now if I wanted to laugh or cry that very moment..it was one good way of starting to knock hard-core reality into our meagre senses..

in response to little Virginia’s query about Santa Clause: Santa does not exist..and so every little kid’s wishes vanished in thin air..when you’re a kid, it does..while there ain’t really no Santa Clauses, his spirit does exist..and that’s to say with utmost propriety, the spirit of giving and sharing..should i go on..ahmm..

then unlike a kid, you can’t wish for justice on Cristmas Day..you maketh it..

or you’d wish you’d be like that boy who never grows up..PETER PAN..was he?