HUMAN RIGHTS
WATCH
Lack of Justice
Sickens the Poor
2 rights
lawyers decry breakdown of law under Arroyo
“The
poor should have a way to use the justice system for their benefit. The
high price of pursuing justice makes the poor choose to evade it.” – FLAG
lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno
By Jhong dela Cruz
Bulatlat
The
relatives of 21-year-old Jonas “Chukoy” Nucum and his brother, Tonton,
could only gnash their teeth in anger over their death. They couldn’t
immediately bring to court the victims’ alleged killers and they don’t
trust the prevailing justice system in the country.
Chukoy died
instantly when his throat was slit-open with a knife by a gang member in
the urban poor community of Bambang, Tondo on July 2. He was a member of
the militant youth Anakbayan (nation’s youth) at the time of his death.
Family shock
did not end with Chukoy’s killing. An ex-policeman fired a warning shot in
a youth ramble that ensued after the killing. A bullet hit Tonton,
19-year-old brother of Chukoy, when he dashed to take his brother to the
Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital. Tonton, also an active member of Anakbayan,
also died.
Marietta
Nucum, 42, the victims’ aunt, said in a Bulatlat interview, “Hindi
kami umaasa na mabigyan ng katarungan yung mga bata” (We’re not hoping
justice will be served in the brothers’ killing).
What adds to
Marietta’s doubt that justice will be served for her nephews is that
persons implicated in the killings are reportedly protected by an
influential businessman in Tondo, home to several slum communities which,
according to police reports, also remains crime-infested.
In the
killings of Chukoy and Tonton, it took their kin a month before they
could file formal complaints against the suspects on August 2.
Wenceslao
Nucum, father of the victims, said they had filed criminal charges against
one Noli also known as (a.k.a.) “Buddha” and Paul Vinirao, for two counts
of murder.
Homicide
Nucum said
the Bambang police station tried to reduce the charges to homicide. He
opposed this, he said, insisting that the accounts of the killing clearly
spelled murder. “We’re awaiting subpoena to be issued against the
suspects,” he said in Filipino.
Murder
suspect Vinirao used to be active with the Philippine Constabulary (PC),
now the Philippine National Police (PNP). At the height of youth activism
during martial law, he was reportedly involved in the arrests and
disappearances of organizers of people’s organizations in Tindalo, Tondo.
Vinirao is
now a “right hand” of a former PC man who now runs a chain of medical
supply shops in Ermita, Manila. Noli, Chukoy’s alleged killer, also works
for the shop owner. The suspects’ link to the businessman, who is
apparently influential in Tondo, might elude them from being prosecuted,
Nucum said.
“Areglo”
has also come into play in the victims’ case. “Areglo” is an
extra-legal deal that involves money aimed at silencing a victim or his
relatives.
“They tried
to bribe us with money,” Nucum said, declining to state an amount. Also,
the other party has lobbied with village officials, particularly the
chairman, to settle the case through “areglo” to which Chairman Ben
Fernando refused. Tonton was serving as baranggay tanod (village
security) at the time of his death.
The Nucum
brothers’ killings happened amid the spate of politically-motivated
murders that, to date, have claimed 725 lives across the country. Among
those killed were leaders and members from Anakbayan, League of Filipino
Students and other youth-student organizations.
Military
Although the
military is widely believed to be behind the killings, not one suspect has
been arrested and complaints against many suspects have not been pursued
by law enforcement and justice authorities. Like many of the victim’s
relatives, those of the Nucum brothers are pessimistic about the outcome
of the two cases.
Two
prominent human rights lawyers tend to share this public sentiment. Lawyer
Manuel Jose Diokno, chair of Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), laments
that no change has taken place in the judicial system especially since
2001 when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was installed into office.
Diokno told
Bulatlat that the widening economic gap between the rich and poor is tied
to how the land’s judicial system upholds the poor’s rights. In pursuit of
justice, the poor are pushed to the edge, even choosing to get justice in
their own hands, Diokno said in an interview.
“Wala
kaming nakikitang pagbabago sa hustisya natin sa bansa mula nang maluklok
sa puwesto si Arroyo” (We don’t see any change in the country’s
justice since Arroyo came into power), he said. The bias of the law for
those who could pay and against those who cannot has not changed, he said.
Another
lawyer, Neri Colmenares of the Counsels for the Defense of Civil Liberties
(CODAL) said the institutions that are supposed to uphold the integrity of
justice have been eroded by the personal favors of the administration.
“The role of
the judiciary, the prosecution and the investigation do not function well
to provide justice for the poor,” he said in a phone interview. “Normally,
our justice system does not work for the poor, but now it has worsened
because it has been used against perceived enemies of the government,” he
added.
Accessibility
Diokno said
that the first step toward reform in the justice system is to make it
accessible to the poor.
“The poor
should have a way to use the justice system for their benefit,” he said.
“The high price of pursuing justice makes the poor choose to evade it.”
Many poor
people languish in jail simply because they are poor, Colmenares
maintained. “They cannot afford the service of lawyers,” he said.
Processes
and proceedings in a criminal or civil case that normally takes three
years upon filing entail huge amount of money.
According to
the CODAL lawyer, acceptance fee for hiring private lawyers is pegged at
P30,000, with lawyer’s fee ranging P2,000-P3,000 for every hearing. The
court conducts at least six to 10 hearings for a case a year.
Investigation and basic evidence gathering would cost a complainant
P20,000-P30,000, as well as court fees, which include payments for
transcript and docket fee.
The
complainant would pay up the same amount if the defendant files an appeal
after conviction.
In attending
to the court’s hearings, and in keeping the witnesses, an aggrieved party
would also need some P20,000-P30,000.
Pro bono
legal assistance provided by “overworked but underpaid” fiscals
from the Public Attorneys Office, also comes at a price. Although they are
prohibited from collecting fees, some public counsels ask for payment
between P5,000-P10,000.
Money talks
But being
poor should not be a factor to prove acquittal or guilt, said Colmenares.
Long-time imprisonment on grounds of being unable to afford an attorney is
itself injustice, he said.
In the
remaining three-and-a-half years of Arroyo, rights lawyers foresee the
judicial system would deteriorate.
“Kung walang
pagbabago sa paglilitis ng kaso dito, lalo lang lalala ang sitwasyon natin…kung
sira ang legal system wala na tayong mapupuntahan. Ganun ang
nakikita naming direksyon sa ilalim ni Arroyo,” said Diokno. The FLAG
chair handles the case of the Tagaytay 5, who were detained on suspicion
of being involved in a recent coup plot.
Bulatlat
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