ATTY. RAUL T. TOBIAS: a lawyer with a big heart

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”-- Harper Lee’s quotes from the book “To Kill a Mockingbird”.

Manong Raul as he is fondly called by friends, started working with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Region 2 as a Supply Officer, he being a mechanical engineer by profession.

From the General Services Unit, he was assigned to the Legal Division as a Legal Officer having graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Laws and Letters at the Cagayan Colleges Tuguegarao.

 After passing the bar examination, he was appointed as Attorney III, and then Attorney IV, (head of the litigation section) and eventually as Atty. V (Chief of Legal Division).

He shifted from litigation service to adjudication when he was appointed as Provincial Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (PARAD) where he was assigned in Batangas, Quezon and Laguna, and eventually designated as the Officer-In-Charge Regional Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (OIC-RARAD) of Region 2 In 2019.

Inspired by Harper Lee’s quotes, Atty. Raul’s understanding of the farmers had gone deeper.  He focused more on the less fortunate people of the society, the underprivileged who need more understanding and protection without expecting anything in return. The saying “those who have less in life should have more in law,    motivated and inspired him to work toward the betterment of the lives of the poor, most especially the ARBs.

During his stint as OIC-RARAD, DARAB was applauded for contributing in the achievement of Zero-backlog in CY 2019, sustaining its status from CY 2017-2018. And on 2021, awarded again for attaining Zero-Backlog in all activities of DARAB.

Working in DAR for 33 years means spending more than half of his life  simply serving the farmers with dedication.  Serving the less privileged people gave him contentment and fulfillment more than  the awards and recognition he received. Hearing these words not just once but often “agyamannak ti adu kenka abogado iti tulongmo” (thank you very much attorney for your assistance) coming from a happy farmer- ARB  meant everything to him.

He gained the highest respect of his colleagues for his dignity and integrity.