Work Filipino Style

Here at the end of our stay in  the Philippines I thought I should talk a little about what I've done while here.

My work has been divided between two organizations. First I worked for the Area Legal Counsel Office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the Philippine Area Office. The legal office here is only three people. Doug McAllister is the Area Legal Counsel, David Farnsworth is the Assistant Area Legal Counsel, and Cyntha Pelobello is the Legal Secretary. I did work in several different areas including contemplating the state of divorce in the Philippines, drafting donation deeds for various humanitarian efforts, researching the state of the priest-penitent privilege, creating pamphlets to teach priesthood leaders how to  to help victims of abuse recover and learning about the legislative processes in the Philippines.

I also worked for the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy. Here I mostly researched the state of women's rights in Islam. As part of this research I learned a lot about Islamic Law and how it is applied in different countries. Understanding Islam has helped me better understand the conflicts in the Middle East (and here in the Philippines). In the south of the Philippines are several islands that are mostly Muslim. For five hundred years armed guerrillas have been fighting for independence from Spain, then from the United States, and now from the rest of the Philippines. But most of the people prefer to maintain some ties to the Philippines while keeping some autonomy. One result of this struggle is that in the Philippines what the law is depends on your religion. Muslims, for example, can practice polygamy, can obtain divorce, and have their own system of inheritance. But if you are not Muslim you may only have one wife, you can never get a divorce, and you have a different system of inheritance. This dual system of family law exists in several other countries. An extreme example is Egypt where family law is different for each major religious group.

During my free time here in the Philippines I have been researching different law firms in preparation for interviews in August. Learning about each firm is important so I can make an informed decision about which firms to interview with. Each firm has a different culture and work ethic, so I want to make sure I get hired by a firm that fits me.

Christine in her free time has been reading. She read Little Women, as well as several other books. One book she read was my book. She has given me some very enlightening insights about ways to improve it. I am grateful for her guidance, and I am glad to say I have made some improvements already. Now I see how important the editing process is to ensure that the book is clear and internally coherent. So after I finish this edit I will be asking several people to read it and provide comments.

One more thing I've been working on is my Family Conference that I am planning for February at Columbia University. I have been emailing many different professors and authors to ask that they come and speak at my conference. Several outstanding professors have agreed to come and speak at the conference, so my work has paid off. I'll be releasing more information as the Conference nears.

So Christine and I have been kept pretty busy. Our time in the Philippines has been educational, enlightening, and invigorating. It feels good to have conquered the initial culture shock and to come away knowing our time in the Philippines was a success.