Dean Cesar Villanueva says that the demand for excellence and instilling the passion for truth and justice are core components of the law school. It is the brain of the mission.

"Service to others and to one’s community, the very manifestation of the high ideals of legal education, constitute the ‘heart’ of the mission. Striking a delicate balance between these two makes up the very ‘soul’ of the law school,’’ Villanueva explains.

That kind of perception of law is one that can be said as the road less traveled, yet, fearlessly trod by Ateneo lawyers.

This soul of the ALS was a legacy dutifully lived by the late Atty. Roberto Gana. He braved the path of alternative lawyering – legal services for the vulnerable in Philippine society – which pays so little. Others would say, "What for does a person spend a fortune to acquire a law degree, only to give his services for free or for a pittance?’’

Gana was different. He graduated fifth in the class in 1986 and placed fifth in the bar examinations a year later. Although numerous offers came to him after topping the bar, Gana chose to be a lawyer for non-government organizations. He later became acknowledged as a pioneer lawyer for the poor and dispossessed. In 1987, he moved on to establishing, with his lawyer friends and Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ, an alternative law center called SALIGAN (Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panlegal) where he became the full-time executive director.

Gana’s biography imparts, "No place was too far for Bobby to go and to be of help… the various regions of the country, the coasts of Samar and Camarines Sur, the plains of Sorsogon and Aklan, the hills of Quezon and Bukidnon, in the midst of humble folk, farmers, fishermen and peasant women… This genuine solidarity with those whom he served endeared him to them. They were secure in the assurance of Bobby’s constant availability. He had given them all the numbers where he could be reached, and on more than one occasion, he left home at midnight or in the small hours of the morning in the response to their call.’’

At the Ateneo, the formation of an alternative lawyer starts in the academe through human rights-related subjects. The Human Rights Center of the ALS has a formation program where students immerse themselves in the plight of the poor.

For a certain period of time, the law students stay and live with the poor to hear and discuss their concerns. Such experience molds a budding alternative lawyer in the same way it has been a lifechanging experience for the late Gana, who died in a plane crash in 1998.

The said center is also engaged in curriculum development aimed at promoting all law schools to offer subjects tackling human rights and laws that concern the marginalized.

All in all, the core foundation of an Ateneo education and the Ateneo student’s mindset of being a "man for others’’ honed by example and repeated injunction, cultivates an alternative lawyer.

Gana lived all these. He once mediated for workers in a shoe factory strike in Marikina. An old shoemaker saw the lawyer’s wornout shoes and made a pair for him.

When he passed away, he received numerous memorial awards for his accomplishments and a biography in honor of him was published by Bookmark.

These psychic rewards are but minute compared to the tangible returns in knowing that one has created hope in the lives of the once hopeless.

Gana’s life was short, but a meaningful one. He was one of the brave ones. He was an Ateneo lawyer.

For more information about the Ateneo Law School and how you can help, contact 8994373 and 8994346 or email law@aps.ateneo.edu.