LAST week I quoted from an 1847 speech by Daniel Webster, an American orator, lawyer, and statesman.
He said: “The Law: It has honored us, may we honor it.”
Then 172 years later, former Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin at the keynote address of the 2019 IBP conference, said: “Lawyers should not be untruthful.”
There are parallels between Webster and Bersamin. By not being untruthful, lawyers are honoring their profession.
Laymen are sometimes confused by the double negative. Not being untruthful is not the same as being truthful. Lawyers are adept at exploring the area of debate where what is being said is not entirely truthful but at the same is not untruthful.
Also, as I mentioned last week, Proverbs Chapter 28, Verse 13 says:
“No one who conceals transgressions will prosper, but one who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”
In the context of financial institutions’ operations, a transgression can be a minor “glitch” which, if dealt with promptly and efficiently, will be eradicated. No harm done.
A family member fairly recently purchased some items at Toys ‘R Us with her BPI debit card. The money was debited from her account but unfortunately was not credited to Toys ‘R Us. Yikes! What happened? Where has the money gone?
I emailed Ignacio Bunye who is a BPI Independent Director. He immediately contacted BPI’s Ms. Luna who tracked down our money and credited it to our account.
Case closed satisfactorily.
***
Nevertheless there are some disputes between customers and financial institutions which are not resolved promptly. As time goes by, there is mounting evidence that a transgression is being concealed. This, of course, means that the financial institution is not rigorously applying the necessary probity if the institution is to prosper.
The recent introduction of customer care officers has, I believe, helped to increase the level of probity in financial institutions.
There is the question as to where customer care officers should be positioned in the financial institution. I believe they could, with advantage, be part of the legal department which in turn should report directly to a lawyer who is also a member of the institution’s Board of Directors.
This provides the independence necessary if difficult situations are to be resolved properly.
Otherwise, as is sometimes the case, the transgressor is the one who is in a position to conceal the truth.
This means that the financial institution is in a permanent state of dispute with a wronged customer.
And, as the Book of Proverbs tells us, such institutions will not prosper. At least, not as much and they would do if they were run properly./PN
