Tuesday, April 24, 2007 Editorials: Corruption in the judiciary
WHAT Regional Trial Court Judge Meinrado Paredes said during a Legal Alternatives for Women Inc. forum about corruption in the judiciary was not news.
Stories about the issuance of temporary restraining orders and of favorable resolutions being up for sale in some salas have long been going the rounds.
What made it headline stuff was that a judge was the one who said it.
Brick wall
Everybody knows how pervasive corruption is in government, and one would be naïve to believe a government branch, like the judiciary, is exempted from it.
And the reason why this evil has become difficult to expunge from the system is because good people, including the honest government functionaries, are doing nothing.
Paredes, a former activist and human rights lawyer, can be considered an exception, but how many judges and employees in the judiciary can follow his lead?
Besides, the corrupt also thrives under the veil of the very same judicial processes that those in the judiciary are sworn to implement and to follow.
Critics may ask Paredes to provide proof and his claims can hit a brick wall.
In the end, his statement may just become like a pebble thrown into a lake that creates some ripples although once the ripples fade everything will be “normal” again.
Danggit, dissatisfaction
But this does not mean that Paredes’ speech does not serve a purpose.
One, people know now that some judges are no different from other local favor seekers in other agencies like, say, the military and the education department.
The items of choice used to ingratiate themselves to their higher-ups in Manila are still roasted pig, dried fish (danggit being the most popular) and dried mangoes.
Two, that Paredes has publicly aired his complaints could mean that there is widespread dissatisfaction among those in the judiciary.
This may not only involve judges lost in the maneuvering for positions but also court personnel, especially those not directly under the employ of the Supreme Court.
The grumblings would not have been heard had the situation remained tolerable.
Three, with Paredes’ speech, it is now up to concerned judiciary officials whether to ignore the complaints and act like nothing happened or to at least look into them.
