The Philippine Experience

Thursday, October 09, 2008
Justice In The Philippines Is 4'11"

(Despite my medical condition at present, I cannot simply let this injustice pass.)

The news of Gloria Arroyo granting double murder convict, Claudio Teehankee, Jr. executive clemency recently hit the headlines. Teehankee is the son of the late SC Claudio Teehankee, Sr. who shot and killed two teenagers more than 2 decades ago and wounded a third. Late last year, former congressman Romeo Jalosjos, a convicted child rapist was also released. Intrepid reporters found out about it and caused the recall of Jalosjos's release. Both Teehankee and Jalosjos are allies of Arroyo.

Executive clemency cannot be questioned because it is one of the constitutional powers of a president. Is this the kind of leader(?) we have? She has totally disregarded the rights of the victims because of political accommodations. What enrages me is that both are heinous crimes and that no amount of good behavior in jail can pay for their crimes. Teehankee up to now has not admitted his crime to the family of his victims or even to the Filipino people at that. Teehankee snuffed out the lives of kids who had so much future ahead of them.

Is this the brand of justice Arroyo weilds? Such abuse of discretion is totally unacceptable. I wll cite an example of how selective justice can be in the Philippines. An 6-yr. old boy was imprisoned for almost a year because he stole a pair of slippers. The boy never faced the courts and was thrown in with hardened criminals. He was rescued by an NGO which facilitated his release. The boys story was widely picked up by the media. Another case is that of an 82-yr. old grandafather who continues to languish in jai because he cannot raise the P10,000 bail for the crime of theft. He stole a small can of coned beef to feed his hungry grandchildren. Justice in the Philippines is selective. No wonder crimes go unreported because it only favors the rich and the powerful. Reforms in the judiciary and the penal system has been very slow and justice continues to be denied to a big number of alleged criminals and victims alike.

Gloria Arroyo's administration has been justifying its actions because Arroyo promised that she would release all prisoners who reached the age of 70. With the help of her callous secretary of justice, they even put the blame on the families of the victims. There is a procedure to follow before a convict is released. The prosecutor and the families must be formally informed and notified. The impending release should also be published in the newspapers. Although the latter was followed, the prosecutor nor the family were never informed. The concerned parties could have blocke Teehankee's release. What's worst, Raul Gonzales, the secretary of (IN)ustice even mocked the victim's family. He said that it's too late for them to complain. If they want to plead their case, they can do so with Jesus Christ. Such a blasphemous ass. this snile nicompoop is. Clearly the rights of children or their safety cannot be protected by this administration.

If this is the case, let's just throw the entire justice system as Arroyo can do as she pleases anyway. What I hope and pray to happen now, no matter how unchristian it may be is that their children befall the same fate the victims went through. It is wishful thinking as I know very well that their families has dozens of bodyguards to protect them. I am really fuming mad as the blatant violations of human rightd in the Philippines continue. The sad reality however is that Filipinos are indifferent and apthetic to what is happening to our country. I just hope that the Filipino people realize that the moral decay propagated by the current dispensation should and must be stopped before it's too late.

schumey
|8:52:00 PM|#

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