“FAMILY COURT OBSERVATION”

On ___________________, we observed a Family Court in Makati to witness different

family law cases. The cases we heard involved _______, __________ and __________. This was a
requirement under our Prac Court subject which we are obliged to do but deep inside we
wanted it for us to experience real-life court proceedings. For so long we are just glued and
trapped in reading cases about the cases above but in this instance, we were given a chance to
experience them first-hand.

The first case was not, that stimulating since one of the parties is absent and the counsel
for the present party moved for a reset. The second case was also not that interesting because
the petitioner withdraws and moved to dismiss the case for the reason that she cannot attend
subsequent hearings since she is living far from Makati. The judge of the Family Court was
astonished and even wondering why did the petitioner file the case in Makati if the latter is
living far. However, there was no answer from the petitioner. Then said plaintiff asked
permission from the judge if she can leave now to which the answer was affirmative.

The third case was the most exciting and exhilarating one because both of the counsels
for both parties are present. However, the counsel for the respondent was so late the judge
extended the waiting time initially from 5 minutes to 15 minutes. The said lawyer was late for
the reason of old age. During the court proceeding, it is apparent that both counsels were
experienced and veteran because both of them knew what to say and what to do at a specific
circumstance. During the direct examination for the witness, the counsel for the petitioner
objected multiple times which reasonably means that he is being attentive during such
examination. Further, during such direct examination and while objecting, the plaintiff’s
counsel was also preparing for the cross-examination. The result of such display of expertise is
that said counsel discredited the witness of the respondent. The counsel for the respondent was
not left in the dust, instead he persuaded the judge to allow the respondent-father to visit the
child which is in the custody of the petitioner-mother. The said respondent-father was under a
temporary restraining order by a different court which the subject matter of the case is VAWC.

For final summation, we enjoyed and learned so much from the judge and the lawyers
who were part of the court proceedings. And we would like to show our gratitude for the
parties since because of them we had experienced such case.