November 1, 2025 | 5:32pm
MANILA, Philippines — In a world where justice should always prevail, it is sometimes led astray and waylaid by unscrupulous individuals who litter the legal path towards justice with tampered evidences, fake testimonies, and confusing pieces of truths and untruths.
This is why justice can sometimes feel so out of reach and why there is a constant need to be on guard against injustice and to vigilantly fight against it.
Confronting injustice is exactly what Amado D. Valdez, former dean of the University of the East College of Law, does in his newly released legal novel, “They Will Be in Heaven Before the Devil Knows.”
Published by C&E Publishing Inc., the gripping new novel shows that the law is not just a profession — it is a battlefield. Lawyers fight against corruption and abuse of power in the very institutions meant to uphold justice.
Its explosive opening is an attack targeting the Chief Justice. This sets the tone for a high-stakes story where justice and injustice are locked in relentless struggle.
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But beneath the legal battles lies a deeply human story. The novel reflects the bounds of family, the weight of fatherhood, and the unbreakable ties of brotherhood and sisterhood among those who share the calling of the law.
Real-life tensions — ambition and integrity, vengeance and forgiveness — form the emotional backbone of a narrative that is as much an indictment of systemic flaws as it is a testament to courage, redemption, and the enduring power of justice.
In this novel, Valdez drew inspiration and legal basis from the hard realities faced by lawyers and ordinary citizens alike.
The result is a work of Philippine legal fiction that dares the readers to question, reflect, and act, not only as lawyers and students of the law but also as citizens who believe justice must remain a living, breathing mission.
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