Rotten Justice System

It’s only in the Philippines where a person convicted of a crime for 203 years and given a presidential pardon without serving a single day in prison. Believe it or Not!


Gloria pardons grafter who never served a minute of 203-year jail term

BY PETER TABINGO
A PRIVATE contractor convicted of 27 counts of graft and sentenced to 203 years imprisonment by two divisions of the Sandiganbayan did not get to serve a single minute of his jail term after he was granted a conditional pardon by President Arroyo.
Two sources at the graft court said the pardon for Jaime Ponce de Leon, granted by President Arroyo last April 12, was secured by a former House member who has a relative in the Arroyo Cabinet.
Documents obtained from the graft court showed Ponce de Leon was found guilty on charges of conspiracy with officials of the then Ministry of Public Highways (now Department of Public Works and Highways)-Bais City Highway Engineering District in ghost road projects.
The verdict of the Sandiganbayan Second Division, promulgated on July 7, 1989, sentenced De Leon to eight years for each of the 14 graft cases pending against him or a total of 112 years. The ruling was affirmed by the Supreme Court on June 25, 1990.
Despite his conviction, De Leon remained at large.
09/26/2007 Malaya. The rest of the story.
Brewing bribery scandal at the high tribunal

Supreme Court junks rebellion raps vs militant solons

Why the Supreme Court only reprimanded Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez for abuse of power? He should be punished for injustices committed against the progressive legislators. The Batasan 6 should file disbarment case against Raul Gonzalez and his partisan-prostituted public prosecutors. They must be expelled and have no business in the Department of Justice. Teach them a lesson!


Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio even reprimanded Raul Gonzalez’ DOJ. He said, “We cannot emphasize too strongly that prosecutors should not allow, and should avoid giving the impression that their noble office is being used or prostituted, wittingly or unwittingly, for political ends, or their purposes alien to, or subversive of the basic and fundamental objective of observing the interest of justice evenhandedly, without fear or favor to any and all litigants alike, whether rich or poor, weak or strong, powerless or mighty.”


Beltran mullls filing raps vs Raul Gonzalez, others for his arrest

Detained Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran on Friday threatened to file charges against Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, government prosecutors and the policemen who arrested him last year on rebellion charges, Bandila reported.

Beltran’s statement came after the charges lodged against him and five other left-leaning lawmakers were thrown out by the Supreme Court Friday in what the opposition described as a defeat for President Arroyo’s administration.

"Maliwanag naman na I was unlawfully and illegally arrested at iyong aking detention ay arbitrary (It is clear I was unlawfully and illegally arrested and my detention was arbitrary)," Beltran said.

The lawmaker, who has been under hospital arrest at the Philippine Heart Center for more than a year now, said he is confident that he will now be freed despite a pending case before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.

Police authorities have filed a new case against Beltran for the crime of inciting to sedition after his arrest last year. He said that since the offense is bailable he is planning to post bail on Monday to pave the way for his freedom.

Beltran said the dismissal of the rebellion charges was good news. "I am hoping that with the dismissal of the rebellion charges, the attacks against the progressive lawmakers will also come to an end. I am looking forward to my release from detention."

"It is to be hoped that the SC decision will not meet any more opposition from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other forces who continue to discredit, criminalize and demonize us," the 74-year-old veteran labor leader added.

In a 23-page decision penned by Justice Antonio Carpio, the SC’s Second Division granted the consolidated petitions on the writs of prohibition and certiorari to stop the prosecution of the six lawmakers for rebellion.

The high court ruled that state prosecutors did not have probable cause to file charges against Beltran and the group dubbed as the "Batasan 5," who were accused of plotting a coup against President Arroyo last year along with military rebels and opposition politicians.

Bayan Muna Reps. Satur Ocampo, Teddy Casiño and Joel Virador, Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza and Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano sought sanctuary at the House of Representatives and are effectively free while under the protective custody of the House.

The SC ordered the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 to dismiss the criminal cases of rebellion against the six lawmakers.

The court said prosecutors failed to follow procedures for filing charges against the six.

It said haste in filing the charges "not only trivialized the investigation but also lent credence to petitioners’ claim that the entire proceeding was a sham."

The court also cited "the obvious involvement of political considerations" in the case.

All six are members of leftist party-list groups that the military has accused of being fronts for communist insurgents.

The SC also ordered the Makati RTC to dismiss the rebellion charges against private citizens Vicente Ladlad, Nathanael Santiago, Randall Echanis and Rey Claro Casambre.

The SC set aside the rulings of the Makati RTC dated May 31, 2006 and Aug. 29, 2006, which sustained the finding of probable cause against Beltran and upheld the DOJ orders dated March 22, 2006 and April 4, 2006 denying the petition of the "Batasan Five" for the inhibition of the prosecution panel for lack of impartiality and independence.

The SC also ruled that the inquest proceedings against Beltran were void because of the failure of the inquest prosecutors to comply with the rules of preliminary investigation in cases involving lawful warrantless arrests as provided by the Rules of Court.

The SC also found that the joint affidavit of the arresting officers stated that Beltran was arrested for the crime of inciting to sedition and not rebellion: "The inquest prosecutor could have only conducted – as he did conduct – an inquest for inciting to sedition and no other."

The SC said none of Beltran’s arresting officers saw him commit in their presence the crime of rebellion, nor did the arresting officers have personal knowledge of the facts and circumstances sufficient to form probable cause to believe that Beltran had committed rebellion.

"What these arresting officers allege in their affidavit is that they saw and heard Beltran make (an) allegedly seditious speech on Feb. 24, 2006," the SC said.

It added that there was no probable cause to indict Beltran for rebellion, as none of the affidavits presented as evidence before the prosecution panel that conducted the inquest stated that Beltran committed specific acts of rebellion.

"The allegations in these affidavits are far from the proof needed to indict Beltran for taking part in an armed public uprising against the government," the SC said. "What these documents prove at best is that Beltran was in Bucal, Padre Garcia, Batangas on Feb. 20, 2006 and that, 14 years earlier, he was present during the 1992 CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) plenum. Beltran’s alleged presence during the 1992 plenum does not automatically make him a leader of a rebellion."

"None of the affidavits alleges that Beltran is promoting, maintaining or heading a rebellion," the SC said. "The information in fact merely charges Beltran for conspiring and confederating with others in forming a tactical alliance to commit rebellion. As worded, the information does not charge Beltran with rebellion but with conspiracy to commit rebellion, a bailable offense."

The SC also said the preliminary investigation conducted against the petitioners was tainted with irregularities and that the case prosecutors failed to comply with the rule that "the complaint be accompanied by affidavits of the complainant and his witnesses, subscribed and sworn before any prosecutor or government official authorized to administer oath, or, in their absence or unavailability, before a notary public," the SC said.

The SC also stressed "the obvious involvement of political considerations in the actuations of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez and of the respondent prosecutors."

SC spokesman Midas Marquez said the SC decision is not an automatic order for Beltran’s release from detention. Marquez said the SC is ordering the Makati RTC to dismiss the rebellion case against Beltran: "The RTC, with the dismissal of the case, will then order his release from detention provided he is not being held for any other case."

Meanwhile, Gonzalez said he expected the SC decision on Beltran: "I expected that since the release on bail of Satur Ocampo. But I will disagree with the Supreme Court in saying that the DOJ neither has the capacity nor the authority to determine the existence of probable cause."

Gonzalez also said the SC statement that he let his office be used for political purposes is "an allegation based on surmises. Every prosecution will always be under the DOJ. Under the law, all investigations must be brought to the DOJ."

"It is a presumption that we are prostituting our office. All these issues must pass through the DOJ. All these cases must be filed with the Department of Justice. The Rules of Court are very clear," he added.

Meanwhile, Ocampo immediately pressed for Beltran’s release and hailed the SC for dismissing the rebellion case filed against him and his six co-accused: "We are vindicated. This is a triumph of truth and justice over the Arroyo government’s invented and unfair charge against duly-elected people’s representatives."

Ocampo said the SC decision affirmed their position that the charges filed against them "are all fabricated, based only on perjured testimonies, full of legal shortcuts and obviously politically-motivated."

"This is a slap on the faces of President Arroyo and her two repressive agencies – the Cabinet Oversight Committee on Internal Security led by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group (IALAG) led by National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales – who have all conspired to demonize and persecute us because of our roles in the legal opposition and the mass movement," he said.

He added that Gonzalez "is just one of the players. Those who hatched this plot against us are in the Palace." With reports from The Philippine Star (Mike Frialde, Katherine Adraneda, Delon Porcalla) AFP

PHILIPPINES: Rotten criminal justice system victimizes every Filipino

HK-based center/consultant to UN: GMA political will key to protection of Filipinos’ rights

RP criminal justice system ‘rotten’

By Michaela P. del Callar

Daily Tribune 04/02/2007

The “rotten criminal justice system” in the Philippines has caused the country’s failure to deliver justice to Filipinos and contributed to local widespread human rights violations.

This assessment is contained in a report of the Hong Kong-based Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC), an independent regional non-government organization holding general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc) of the United Nations of which the Philippines is a member and elected as vice president.

The 192-page report, made available recently, urges the government of President Arroyo to exercise political will for the protection of human rights in the Philippines.

It cites how the police and courts fail to investigate and solve various human rights violations because of the lack of sincerity of probers, despite well-established institutions in the country.

At the same time, ALRC calls for the government to reform the criminal justice system and fulfil the promises it made to the Filipinos in the laws.

“Institutions alone are not enough, political will is

needed for human rights protection, that is what the Philippines lacks,” Prof. Michael Davis from the Chinese University of Hong Kong says.

Commenting on the report, Basil Fernando, executive director of a Hong Kong-based regional rights group, says he believes that the Philippines has one of the best Constitutions “but the criminal justice system is subverted.”

“Not only activists are targeted, common people also suffer. The entire people of the Philippines are targeted under this rotten system. Even in a case of common murder, it is unlikely that any investigation or prosecution is carried out,” Fernando adds.

The report contains 110 cases of killing, torture, disappearance, abduction, illegal arrest and intimidation, which the Asian Human Rights Commission, a sister organization of ALRC, has documented since 2004.

Among the cases, 81 of them related to killing, but none of them has been solved.

According to ALRC, “command irresponsibility,” the non-existent witness protection program, the bias of state officers toward victims and their families and the irregularities in investigation and prosecution are major obstacles to resolving extra-judicial killings.”

As part of its recommendations, ALRC calls for the setting up of an independent commission to review the criminal justice system, implementation of the witness and victim protection scheme and strengthening of investigation agencies handling complaints against the military and police.

“The military should be held responsible what they do, the (Philippine) government has responsibility under international human rights law to do so,” Davis says.

United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston has held the military responsible for most of the killings in a preliminary report to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva last week but the Philippine government has rejected his findings.

Last Friday, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo belittled Alston’s report, echoing the military line that the Arroyo administration has documents and witnesses to prove that local communist guerrillas are responsible for the extra-judicial executions.

“The government has documented instances (of killings) — the witnesses, including purges and specific charges (against) some people,” Romulo said.

He even claimed that the Philippines has received strong support and praises from the international community, particularly the European Union, for its adherence to human rights practices.

In a preliminary note presented before the 4th session of the UNHRC, Alston said an “order of battle” approach against communist insurgents is currently adopted and practiced by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“A copy of a leaked document of this type from 2006 was provided to me and I am aware of no reason to doubt its authenticity,” he stressed as he asked the Philippine government to provide him a copy of the paper.

In military terms, an order of battle, Alston explained, is defined as an organizational tool used by military intelligence to list and analyze its enemy unit.

He said the document, co-signed by senior military and police officials, calls upon “all members of the intelligence community in the (relevant) region... to adopt and be guided by this update to enhance a more comprehensive and concerted effort against the CPP-NPA/NDF (Communists Party of the Philippines- New People’s Army/ National Democratic Front).”

Alston added the document, some 110 pages, lists hundreds of groups and individuals who have been classified on the basis of intelligence as members of organizations that the military deems “illegitimate.”

Poor folk in the country’s Northern Luzon region have apparently been classified as such.

In Nueva Vizcaya province, residents of a remote mountain town are said to be cowering in fear from alleged threats and harassments being committed the past weeks by elements of the Philippine Army.

Provincial officials yesterday said residents in Alfonso Castañeda had reported that Army elements from the 48th Infantry Battalion (IB) of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division (ID) are practically lording it over the town and sowing fear and intimidation among the people, stressing that those who refuse to cooperate with them are accused of being communist sympathizers.

The provincial officials led by Gov. Luisa Lloren Cuaresma denounced the reported abuses of elements of the 48th IB in Alfonso Castañeda, saying they would report the atrocities to Mrs. Arroyo.

“I am sure the President would not countenance such atrocities,” Cuaresma, a member of Partido Abante Nueva Vizcaya, said.

According to Alfonso Castañeda Mayor Alfredo Castillo Jr., the residents have begun abandoning their homes for fear of threats and intimidations from the Army.

Castillo himself is in hiding due to alleged threats on his life by some Army elements in the area.

“My constituents keep on sending text messages to us about Army abuses on them. They are being harassed or branded as communist sympathizers if they refuse to give in to their demands, including attending meetings with them,” he said.

The mayor also accused certain Army officials of direct politicking by urging the residents not to vote for or reelect some supposedly corrupt incumbent local officials.

This accusation was apparently bolstered by a recent public meeting of the 48th IB’s special operation team on counter-insurgency wherein an Army officer engaged in name-calling, singling out Castillo and other local officials as thieves.

The residents said the local police seemed helpless, with the Army practically dealing even with petty crimes.

But the Army officials assigned in the area vehemently denied the alleged harassments, even asking the crowd during a public meeting on communism by the special action team whether the reported harassments were true.

Col. Joselito Kakilala, commanding officer of the 48th IB, based in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, said the Army was not engaging in direct politicking and harassments.

According to Kakilala, his men were merely engaged in an anti-insurgency drive to ensure the defeat of the Maoist New People’s Army by 2010.

Army higher-ups, when apprised of the residents’ accusations, said they are ready to investigate the reported atrocities of the Army personnel conducting the anti-insurgency campaign in Alfonso Castañeda,

The town can be reached by a four-hour land trip via San Jose City and the towns of Rizal and Pantabangan in Nueva Ecija.

According to Lt. Gen.Bonifacio Gomez, commanding general of the 7th ID based in Fort Magsaysay, Palayan City, also in Nueva Ecija, he would ensure that there would be no whitewash of any investigations of the abuses allegedly committed by his men from the 48th IB.

“We will initiate an independent investigation in addition to that to be conducted through the chain of command to verify the findings. Aside from this, my men and the local officials had already talked about the problem,” Gomez said.

Ted Boehnert