Editorial: When skeletons rattle as officers of justice are challenged

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

THE courts of law exude this impenetrable aura and only lawyers appear to be eager to explore their halls. The hoi polloi, the ordinary tao, is most thankful if they didn't have anything to do with the courts of law in their whole lifetime.

Because of this, those who have to enter these halls would rather take the quickest route out. But the justice system in our country had always been on the slow side, and so many have found some shortcuts that deliver injustice instead. Much like what Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte has implied in his Sunday television program "Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa."

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"Kung mag-imbentaryo ko sa kaso karon sa demolition, daghan mapriso nga sheriff, sobra sa katunga wala gisunod ang balaod (If we conduct an inventory of demolition cases today, many sheriffs will land behind bars because more than half of them have violated the law)," Duterte said in an offensive against the sheriffs who sued his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte for punching one court sheriff who wanted to push through with a demolition in Agdao even without the presence of local government officials.

As repeatedly pointed out in the local news, demolitions require not just a court order but also the presence of local government officials and good weather, a 30-day notice on the affected before the demolition is implemented, and there's more...

"... in cases of eviction and demolition pursuant to a court order involving underprivileged and homeless citizens, relocation shall be undertaken by the local government unit concerned and the National Housing Authority with the assistance of other government agencies within forty-five (45) days from service of notice of final judgment by the court, after which period the said order shall be executed," Article VII, Section 28 (8) of the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 says.

Judge Emmanuel Carpio points to the Rules of Court, which lays down the rules on how court orders in general are to be served, while Court Sheriff Sergio Tupas in defending colleague Abe Andres said UDHA only covers land offered for socialized housing projects.

Sad to say, both officers of justice refuse to see what is staring right at their faces, that the UDHA law is the law providing special protection of the homeless and helpless; the same people who cannot afford to protect themselves amid the seeming impenetrable halls of Justice; the same people who, even when given the Rules of Court may not be able to understand these.

"The most coveted job after the judge is the sheriff. Pangutan-a ninyo ang mga abugado ngano. Ayaw mo sige'g yawyaw dinha mga sheriff. Naa may stapler, stapleri na inyong mga baba. Hilom na lang mo (Just ask the lawyers why such job is coveted. And these sheriffs should just stop talking. You have staplers, staple your mouths and shut up)," Duterte said in his program, refusing to discuss in details what is in a sheriff's job that makes it most enticing and what is it that lawyers know that makes a sheriff's job coveted.

While we may not know in detail, the general idea is already conjured, an idea that leaves yet another bitter taste in our mouths, knowing that yet another procedure in governance has been corrupted for the haves to shorten their visits in the seemingly impenetrable halls of Justice at the expense of the poor. The bile that rises up our throat becomes even more bitter upon realizing that when somebody dares to stand up and challenge our justice system, skeletons are rattled, Pandora's boxes are unhinged, and Lady Justice is exposed to have been peeking all the time.