LAST Monday, SunStar Bacolod featured an interview of Regional Trial Court Branch 52 Judge Raymond Joseph Javier during the “Uncovering the Courts: Media Training on Monitoring the Judiciary.”
Judge Javier ticked off stats. He said 528 drug cases were filed by law enforcers in the city from January to June this year while 839 were docketed in drug courts in 2016.
Last year, 200 drug cases were filed in two months, from July to August when Duterte assumed the presidency in July 2016.
He confirmed what I learned from the ground as a prayer guide of the Prayer and Life Workshop (PLW). I blocked off Friday mornings to hike to the Metro Bacolod District Jail-Special Intensive Care Area (MBDJ-Sica) in Barangay Taculing, Bacolod City for the PLW sessions.
Many of the PLW participants are in prison for illegal drug-related offenses. During their sharing of their Bible reflections, they confirmed Judge Javier’s observations.
I even interviewed a PLW participant, a recidivist drug pusher. He felt holy inside the jail where he attends prayer meetings. However, he couldn’t resist the temptation to peddle the illegal stuff when he sees his barkada, virtually the only “family” who can accept him.
Putting more drug suspects led to overcrowding. During the fraternal sharing, a participant said he learned the values of surrender to a situation where cells meant for 12 people are jam-packed to 30, in some cases, 78 to 80 inmates.
That’s the bad news for People Deprived of Liberty (PDL), the jargon used to describe inmates. The good news is that these suspects are all alive.
All dream of the day when they can again taste laya (freedom).
During our community meditation, an inmate who had just arrived from the Hall of Justice was dancing and shouting with joy. His case had just been dismissed – 12 years after he was deprived of liberty.
As the patriotic song Bayan Ko puts it, “Ibon man may layang lumipad, Kulungin mo at umiiyak…” Or cry for joy when they regain their freedom.
Javier said the judicial branch of the government is doing its best to hasten the justice system in the country, including the court backlogs.
“We’re only humans, there are limitations. The first limitation is time. Second is the backlog,” he explained.
Not surprisingly, the PDLs are the most interested stakeholders for the continuous trial for criminal cases. Their innermost concern is the uncertainty of their cases.
They face two possible future. Acquitted. Or convicted so that they’ll know the timeline when they can taste freedom again.
(bqsanc@yahoo.com)