And Justice for All...

This morning, I was sitting on one of those pew-like seats in the Makati RTC and was feeling a bit uneasy. It was just unsettling to see that sometimes, there are instances wherein our courts find it almost impossible to dispense justice. Yup, as the Code of Judicial Conduct states, the administration of justice certainly is way up there in the list of the Judiciary’s priorities. However, even as the justice system may try its best to get this done right, some circumstances outside of its control prevent the system from working. Of course, we’ve all heard various horror stories with regard to the judicial system in our country, but really, the courts aren’t always the ones to blame. They can really only do so much. Take this one case earlier. A woman who obviously did not know what she was doing there was standing in front of the judge and was being accused for some crime. There she was, clutching at her hand bag with both hands as the public prosecutor stood to her left and the private prosecutor stood by her right. Flanked by both prosecutors, the woman simply stood still and accepted everything that was said and done. That is, until the judge asked her if she had any counsel with her. To this she said no. So, the judge then asked her where her lawyer was. She said she had none. So the judge asked her if she would be defending herself. This time she said yes. Not convinced, the judge asked if she was capable of doing so. Once more, she said yes. Still unconvinced, the judge asked her in tagalog. This time, the woman said something to the effect of simply reiterating what the prosecutors said earlier. It was clear she did not know what was going on. This apparent one-sided situation convinced the court that it wouldn’t be wise to go on with the trial there and then, so the judge ordered its postponement and the assignment of an attorney to handle her case. Here, it was a good thing that the judge was a good one (hehe. Of course. He’s an Ateneo Law professor). But one thing was clear: here was a lady who was being accused of a crime, and she was absolutely clueless. I’m not sure if she did the crime or not, but I believe justice would not have been served if she continued the way she was going.

Another case involved an estafa charge. This time, the accused was being cross examined by the public prosecutor and the questioning done by the prosecutor was really good. However, the answers given by the accused were not. She kept on blurting out answers that truly went against her case. But as she was only assisted by a PAO counsel who must have been handling a really heavy workload, the questions and the accused’s answers were left unobjected to. It came to a point wherein the judge even had to step in and remind the PAO counsel if the accused would like to invoke the her right against self incrimination. To this, the counsel simply smiled and said yes.

So what seems to be the problem here? I’m tempted to say that poverty is. As the two women in these cases couldn’t afford lawyers of their own, they almost certainly dug their own graves in both hearings if not for the intervention of the court. But of course, that’s a motherhood statement that really serves as a catch all phrase for all of our country’s problems. So I won’t even go there because it just sounds like another cliché. With that, maybe there’s another problem here that, unlike the 1st problem mentioned, is not so daunting to tackle. So I’ll venture a guess and say it’s the lack of information of the people and the difficulty of the process of educating them with regard to the whole judicial process. Solving this problem might be easier to do. Yes, if the 1st lady knew anything else, she would have known not to go to court without counsel. If the 2nd lady knew of her rights, she might not have spoken so candidly. As in the first case, I’m reserving my judgment as to her guilt or innocence, but the law still affords her a right not to incriminate herself and she could have easily availed of such right if she knew it existed. So I guess, the whole point is that if the real aim is justice in accordance with the law, it might be prudent to make the law more accessible to the people. Inform them about it. Inform them of the process. Let them know what it takes to defend themselves. Use the law. That’s what its there for. We Filipinos are so utterly obsessed with our rights you’d think that we’d spend more time learning about them. Oh well.

This day was quite eventful for me as I found myself in yet another public place after lunch. At around 2pm, I was standing in the office of Atty. Benny Cataran in the SEC. In stark contrast to the judicial process which can be quite harrowing to the untrained( and to the trained, for that matter), the SEC processes represent simplicity at its best. Incorporating under the SEC’s rule is so easy that anyone can do it. The step by step process which is so easy to understand is made even simpler with the helpful people in the office. Anything and everything a person needs to know is quickly presented to him. It was really fun seeing a government office working so well.

But then again, I’m led once more to the conclusion that there is something skewed here. Why is it that it is so complicated to defend yourself from incarceration while it is so utterly easy to start a corporation? Why is it harder to protect your own person than to create an artificial person? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Or is it just me? Ewan ko lang a.

Oh well, oh well, oh well….
Ayun, nalungkot naman ako. But at least I've finally managed to get my Donsol pics developed...







Swim Team




Hehe. Kelangan lang ng konting imahinasyon pero may whaleshark diyan.... talaga.