As the old saying goes, "Never judge a book by its cover."  Many have made the mistake of regarding people as nobodies when in actual fact they were nondescript "Somebodies." 

Many years ago a self-made wealthy Filipino traveled to the United States for the first time to enjoy the fruits of his labors.  Dressed drably, this extremely wealthy man entered a Jaguar Cars dealership in downtown San Francisco and asked a salesman for the price of the car. 

The salesman snapped back, "This is probably something you cannot afford.  I can direct you instead to a dealer with good second-hand American cars."  

Deeply insulted, the Filipino whipped out his Bank of America checkbook and coolly asked, "How much are two of these Jaguars?  I want one in white and one in black.  Lastly, I want to see your general manager."  

Face to face with the manager, he said, "I am going to buy two cars from you, but make sure that this salesman is fired." 

As Melanie Marquez once said, "Don't judge my brother, he is not a book."  You can never really tell who you are dealing with in this world.  There are many wealthy yet low-key individuals who are admirable because of their simplicity and humility. 

There also are a lot of highly-accomplished people who became successful through sheer determination and hard work.  Despite this, they have remained humble.  These are the people we should emulate. 

An old line that I always remember is that when you're powerful or wealthy, you should never flaunt it because it should simply radiate.  Unlike some people who swagger all over the place making people think they're someone important and yet, they're really nothing because they have no real substance.  The worse are those who bask in inherited glory by virtue of their names, but who really have nothing good to show for it.

You really can never judge a book by its cover and one judge whom you can never really judge is Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Raoul Victorino—a child of faith and the law.  During his retirement ceremony as chair of the Sandiganbayan's Third Division last Tuesday, Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. was present together with Supreme Court justices Artemio Panganiban and Antonio Carpio as well as the Court of Appeals justices.  

Also present were Erap's lawyers—former justices Flaminiano, Manuel Pamaran and Andres Narvasa.  Others who were there—Bro. Eddie Villanueva, Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, former Senator Rene Saguisag and former Senator Jovy Salonga, who was the first senator I interviewed when I became a news reporter for Channel 9 in 1970.  I am glad I was invited to this event by the honoree. 

In an emotional speech to his colleagues, friends and relatives, Justice Victorino showed his appreciation for his wife Lily and their daughter Lil as he looked forward to spending more time with them in his retirement. 

Raoul stressed that he will continue to function in the realms of his Faith, Family, Fatherland and Friends.  He addressed his countrymen by quoting the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's inspiring words, "Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends out a tiny ripple of hope." 

Appropriately, he ended quoting a line from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem Ulysses, "Come, my friends, 'tis not too late to build newer world." 

You could see that the Victorinos are a close-knit family.  I saw tears of joy welling from his eyes when his daughter sang a surprise number for him.  Justice Victorino told us that his family had humble beginnings because his father was a teacher and his mother was a simple woman of faith. 

Yet their poverty did not stop him from excelling in academics.  He graduated with honors from Rizal High School and went to UP as an entrance scholar.  At the UP College of Law, he could not afford to buy books so he spent his time studying at the library. 

He supported himself by working, even selling cigarettes on the streets.  All his hard work paid off because he graduated in 1957 and passed the bar exams on the same year despite the fact that he could not afford to buy a single law book.

Judging from the turnout during his retirement ceremonies, attended by his classmates, colleagues and the justices of the Supreme Court led by the Chief Justice, there is no doubt that Justice Victorino was well respected and highly esteemed in his profession. 

Even among Sandiganbayan employees, Justice Victorino is well loved because he always looked out after the welfare of the small people, consistently walking the extra mile to help them.  He is well respected by his colleagues because of his competence, diligence and thorough knowledge of the law. 

He was known for strict observance of the ethics of the profession as well as his commitment to fairness and the rule of law.  His service is distinguished by a "zero backlog" record.  That's quite a feat considering that people have become resigned to the fact that most cases often languish at the bottom of the pile. 

And yet, one has never heard Justice Victorino, a civic leader, who is acknowledged by peers as a man of integrity, broadcast his record of accomplishments.  Instead, he chose to remain humble and low-profiled. 

Justice Victorino is a prime example of a man who gave his best to public service and I am certain there are many like him in government service.  It makes one feel good to know that there are men of integrity in this country.  Knowing that, we can safely say that there's still hope for all of us.

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