COVERED IN A THIN CLOTH: JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE PHILIPPINES

BY:

Sharmaine Rae P. Jacinto

11-Marion

A PERFORMANCE TASK SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENT FOR DISCIPLINE AND IDEAS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCE
 INTRODUCTION

Justice, as defined by Merriam Webster is “the maintenance or administration of what

is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment
of merited rewards or punishments”. In simple words, Justice is the right judgment
given to someone without requiring any classification from the person who avails it
instead, what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong and the wrong should be
punished. The criminal justice system is comprised of three major institutions which
process a case from inception, through trial, to punishment. A case begins with law
enforcement officials, who investigate a crime and gather evidence to identify and
use against the presumed perpetrator (Reuters, 2017). Different countries around the
globe have also different distinctive justice systems. Some of them serve justice fair
and some don’t. Philippines is said as one of the countries that has poor justice
distribution. Some said that “Fair Justice Distribution” in the Philippines is
impossible to achieve because here in the Philippines, the elites has more power and
authority to manipulate justice compare to the poor. As a result, the elites will
always be right as long as they wanted to because of their money and power to
manipulate the justice system, while the poor will remain wrong and faulty even
though they are just for they are not able to fight for their rights because they do not
have the money to support their claims.

BODY

In a country like the Philippines, justice is not fairly served or distributed. Simply
because of money powers. In a poor country, money is a must. Money is needed in
everyday living in order to survive and in order to fulfill the desires of its handlers.
Money has the power to do or to achieve anything we desire that is why people thirst
for it. People will do anything to achieve power, to have money because of its
ability to control its surrounding. Money has the ability to control or manipulate
things including our justice system. Some of our judges, law enforcers and
politicians are now under the power of money and they desire nothing but money.
The Philippines has no justice because our people are blinded by cash. Many
politicians tend to be in favor of the rich because they know that rich people have
more money to pay for their services as a result, the rich wi ll have the upper hand
and the poor will not get the justice they deserve. In cases wherein the rich
aggrieved the poor, the judgment will always be in favor of the rich even though
they are the one who aggrieved the poor because they can hire better lawye rs that
may help them get through the way. Also in the existence of our dirty government
system, the rich’s money will serve as a premium for the politicians to let them get
through. We can say that our government provides public attorneys that will help
our poor people in terms of legal terms for free but then these lawyers are not all
faithful in their sworn duties. They can also be blinded by money and as a result,
they will not do their best in order to fight for their poor clients’ justice. In addition
to that, not all of our fellow countrymen are knowledgeable when it comes to legal
terms and procedures. Some of them didn’t even know their rights and as a result,
they will easily give up their claims without knowing that they are right. We can’t
deny that our fellow countrymen are still a fool when it comes to the dimensions of
the word “Justice”. It is indeed awful to witness the contents of the news and social
media threads about those who are killed. Some of them were killed because they
are accused of using drugs, some of them are killed for money or political conflicts
purposes and sadly, there are plenty of them who were killed without any clear
purpose. Those who are killed that appears in the news, not even a half of them
receives justice and those who are in the news are not even a dot in the population of
their related cases. Many of our fellows lost their lives and yet no one dares to give
them justice because most of them were killed by the orders of some powerful
people in our society. Because of their money and power, no one dares to contradict
them and their doings. Not only the deaths, but also we can all agree that there’s no
justice when it comes to the foreigners and natives conflicts. A clear example is the
smuggling of not only different goods or products but also of illegal drugs by the
foreign men. When the foreign men caught guilty of smuggling, small talks and big
amount of money will free them but when our fellows caught guilty of smuggling
they will undergo a long and slow process of justice and during that said process,
they will suffer in jails, except when they are rich they can easily get through the
accusations. Our fellows, though they wanted to fight for their rights and to achieve
the justice they deserve, will only choose to renounce or forsake their claims
because they do not have time, resources and money to support their claims and to
wait for the undeniably slow and complicated process of justice in our country.. In a
survey of Philstar Global, they ask some of our countrymen “Do you trust the
justice system in the Philippines? Why or why not?”. Some of their answers are
listed below:
Lelanie Alegiojo, Cavite: No, I don’t. Justice is only for those who are rich and I
learned about this the hard way. We, the poor people, just keep our silence.
Leonard Villa, Batac City: No, justice is unequal for the rich and the poor. We
have corrupt justices and other court officials and justice is for sale in our country.
Mariette Hizon, Metro Manila: A big no! I have a very low regard for our justice
system. More often than not, the powerful and moneyed perpetrators of crime pay
the justices.
Ed Gulmatico, Abu Dhabi: No, the justice system in our country only favors the
rich and powerful. If you belong to the privileged few, high and mighty Filipinos,
 expect no case against you, or if there is, it will just go down the drain if it is not
whitewashed.
Ignacio Anacta, Metro Manila: I have never trusted our justice system because its
dispensation is selective: Favorable decisions often go to the one who pay more.
J.R. Mondonedo Jr., Parañaque City: I don’t trust the justice system here because
judges can be paid. If you’re poor and trying to get justice, consider yourself dead
meat. But if you’re rich and guilty as hell but can very well pay off those judges,
then justice will be in your favor.
Jayson Biadog, Mandaluyong City: It’s 50-50 because I can see a lot of people
using power and money to buy justice.
Rose Leobrera, Manila: Not all the time, especially when the accused are rich and
influential.
Joan Cejes, Makati City : Yes, there is justice only if you’re rich, famous and
powerful. But if not, you won’t get justice at all. Unfortunately, I’m in the latter.
Rico Mario, Metro Manila: Always remember this: In a Third World country like
the Philippines, justice is only for the rich. Kaya kaibigan, iwas na lang sa
gulo against rich people, at tiyak na mabubulok ka lang sa bilangguan habang
buhay

Based on their answers, we can obviously see that they also have the perspective
that believes that only the rich has the privilege to achieve justice. Our political
justice system is dirty and unfair Obviously they are in favor of the rich, elites and
powerful people. Justice is not really for all, we are all lied that justice is something
that we can all have because the truth is, justice is in the hands of the powerful
personalities in our society.

CONCLUSION

Justice system in the Philippines is indeed dirty and faulty. It tends to be in favor of the
rich and it is very rare for the regular and poor people. The Justice system in the
Philippines is slow and complicated that is why our fellows did not believe in it
anymore. In addition, the fact that justice in the Philippines is only available for the
rich and powerful personalities makes justice in the Philippines more impossible to be
distributed fair. Truly, the lady justice is not blind. The scale she was holding is not
precise. Her eyes are only covered in a thin cloth. That is why her judgment is in favor
of who is much wealthy and powerful. If truly she cannot see the power in both parties,
why is it always the rich who receives the upper hand and why is it always the poor
who is denied and sentenced guilty by her judgments? Clearly, her eyes is covered in a
thin cloth and she was still able to see and choose where to give her justice.
References:

http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-law-basics/how-does-the-criminal-justice-
system-work.html

http://www.philstar.com/inbox-world/640998/do-you-trust-justice-system-
philippines-why-or-why-not

http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Philippines/sub5_6f/entry-3913.html