Edre U. Olalia, Esquire
Ina Alleco Silverio and I are doing this for the second time. This time, we are focusing our energies on just one guy, Atty. Edre U. Olalia.
Nice things about him:
- Barely five feet tall, he commands everyone’s attention when talking about human rights, international humanitarian law, the peace process, among others. I have yet to see a government lawyer who could stand up to his forceful argumentation and breadth of knowledge of the law and the principles of (social) justice.
- A gregarious guy, he is nevertheless very focused when it comes to work. Research makes for good lawyering, he says.
- I once saw him direct a packing and mailing operation like a real pro. DHL, UPS and FedEx would have loved him.
- Has sacrificed so much for the interest of advancing human rights and genuine social change here and abroad. He gave up his thriving “commercial” legal career such as fixing annulments for celebrity couples and winning cases for bus companies for his principles.
- He types very fast–even when his left hand crosses over to where his right should be typing. And vice-versa.
More nice things about him:
- He used to come to the office armed with a school boy’s silver and black lunch box named “Big Boy.” In it was a veritable feast composed of fragrant rice, two viands (meat and vegetable), a salad (mostly tomato and chopped onions) and a big banana longer than his, uh, face. Lovingly prepared by his doting mother, this lunch box could feed several other friends as well.
- He drives around in a Kia Pride beater that used to break down in the middle of Edsa. He once had to ask his foreigner-visitors to push it to the curb lest he be towed by Bayani’s boys.
- Brilliant as he is, this guy has no sense of direction. He could drive around for hours looking for his destination that he has been to hundreds of times before. As a result, he leaves home much earlier. He could get lost on his way home.
- I once shot the breeze with him in a bar in Quezon City. He flirted with a comely girl who happened to sit beside him. The girl later left for another bar–with a lesbian.
- Like one of his favorite clients, he loves to sing. His rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” was truly a delight. He sang and recorded the song like Lennon would—from the grave!
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Here is Ina’s take on Edre:
1. Hands down, Edre Olalia is my favorite lawyer in the universe.
2. He has ticklish ears (strange. Never talk near his ears. He erupts in a sudden, bizarre reaction of girlish giggles).
3. He once claimed to have run ito Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy in an anti-imperialist conference in Mumbai India and engaged in a torrid, French kiss with her.
4. He is afraid of dogs. I don’t think dogs like him very much either. Maybe because he never gets their names right. My dog is named Poofy, but he kept calling her "Spooky." Not surprisingly, Poofy didn’t like him and growled. Edre, however, likes cats.
5. He can finish off three beers in a row and not appear drunk. He will, however, get GIGGLY.
6.When he has a deadline, he writes like he’s on speed and crack combined. The results, however, are astounding. One time he made me go through a 40? 50? 60? page paper on the history of liberation movements and what International law
says on the matter.
7. When physically exhausted, he also gets emotional. It is as if he suddenly realized the nature of his work and the cases he handles and the weight of it all bore down on his heart and squeezed it so that, well, he cries. He cries in the
closet, so to speak. Wishing that he could do more work. He once told me that he wished there were 10 more of him, and all of them would still be doing the same work for the Movement.
8. He has a way of folding and packing his clothes that is so prissy! He packs them in a cell phone box to keep them from getting creased.
9. He may be 41 going on 42, but he looks 25 (on a good day. On a bad day and he has darkish rings under his eyes and his pale skin looks even more pale than usual, he looks 35).
10. He is one of the closest and bestest friends in the Movement.
Ladies and gentlemen, friends and fans, pwede na pong mag-react.
