Friday, June 01, 2007 Ledesma: Domestic violence By Jun LedesmaSunbursts
DAVAO City Mayor Rody Duterte has exciting reasons to celebrate. Yesterday while presiding over joint meeting of the Regional and City Peace and Order Councils and stakeholders, the mayor received an advice from Vice Mayor Louie Bonguyan that Davao City will be a recipient of a prestigious award given by the Government Service Insurance System to seven government institutions for excellence in Best Practices. The city is the only local government unit that qualified for the criteria.
Bonguyan said that Davao City was cited for its 911 Emergency Center which is the only one of its kind in the Philippines. It also earned the judges' nod for its Lingap Para sa Mahirap, a medical and health assistance program for the poor. The city government loan and financial assistance to the city employees which put a stop to loan shark operators also merited an accolade from GSIS.
What looks like the downside for Davao City is the report that rape and domestic violence have dramatically increased. The women's group, of course, feasted on the issue. Some of the more vocal ones attributed this to the inability of the law enforcers, including the administrators of justice, to strictly apply the law. Not even Police General Roly Caro can give an explanation why. But there is a positive outlook that can be derived from this data.
Victims of rape and domestic violence are wont to keep the crime secret as this will bring shame on them and the fear that they will be socially ostracized. There is also that fear that the law enforcers are not to be trusted on the claim that generally policemen consider domestic violence as family problem. The other aspect is the prohibitive cost of court litigation.
The increase of cases domestic offenses reported to the police and are brought to court should not be judged on the surface. Let us consider the fact that Mayor Duterte has appointed five lawyers to handle cases of domestic violence including rape. He too has direct orders to the police that where a case of violence is reported and they arrive on the scene while the crime is on going, law enforcers have the right to force themselves in to protect the victim from bashing or maybe death. His order is for the suspects to be locked up in jail and appropriate charges be leveled against the perpetrators. The perpetrators, by the way, need not necessarily be the man or husband.
The fact that these private crimes are now reported to the authorities is actually a feather in the cap of the police, the administrators of justice and the city government. The dramatic rise of formally reported cases is a positive indicator of an increase in trust and confidence on the law enforcers, those who dispense justice and the local government authorities. The GSIS award body must have missed this, but this is one excellent achievement where a high level of trust on this triad of Davao city government, the law enforcers and the courts had been won. The small incidence of reported complaints of domestic violence and rape in other cities and regions does not necessarily mean these abominable crimes do not exist. Lack of confidence on the administrators of law maybe the reason why. And that to me is a real cause of concern.
BTW, the Philippine Airlines, the first airline in Asia, is having an exhibit at the SM Davao City Mall atrium. The public will see the evolution of the airline company from 1941 to what it is today. It's a must see exhibit. We give credit to PAL VP for Mindanao, Doming Duerme and Davao Manager Art Balaga for bringing the exhibit to Davao City. See it and find the reasons why we should be proud of the Philippines' national flag carrier.
