Court Room Black Comedy

I was in court again today, doing the slow drag, and waiting for the time my case would see the light of trial. There were twenty cases on the calendar, mine landed on number 15. As I waited for my case to be called, I found great entertainment in an exchange between a litigant, who was absent the previous hearing, and the judge.

The court had issued a warrant of arrest against the litigant and demanded that he gave an explanation for his absence. The man said he was in Isabela, a province nine hours away from Manila, and claimed he got sick with flu. The judge suspecting it was a lie, asked him why he did not have a medical certificate to back up his claim.

He said he didn’t consult a doctor, and performed self-medication.

The judge asked what medicine he took, and the poor guy looked puzzled.

Somebody whispered “Neozep”, which is a popular local medicine for the common cold.

And the poor guy said, “Neozep, your honor”

The Court berated him, and told him Neozep was for colds, as the entire court gallery chuckled. I couldn’t keep myself from laughing, even as I wished I had whispered Diatabs, instead.

The poor guy couldn’t say a thing, and the court told him that next time, it’s better to tell the truth, and ordered the lifting of his warrant of arrest.

Then, the next case was called, and a lawyer, who saw what happened earlier, stood up, his hands shaking, and said.

“Your honor, my client cannot make it today, because

he’s dead.”