By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
A recent Department of Justice (DOJ) circular effectively instructs prosecutors to reduce the bail recommended for a suspect in a crime by half if the accused is poor and not a habitual offender or recidivist.
What troubles me about the reasoning of Justice Secretary Boying Remulla in issuing such an order is that it was not so much as a humanitarian consideration to the respondent as it is for relieving the penal system of congestion.
If this circular were intended to make the judicial processes more compassionate to indigents, then it would have also considered the economic status of the aggrieved party, whose pain or loss due to the crime should deserve “more in law.”
But no, our government is doing this to backstop a worsening condition in Philippine jails, which are generally congested by 330 percent.
So, while this may appear like having a heart for the poor and marginalized, it is actually a cover-up for negligence, incompetence, and slow speed in addressing law and order in the streets, courts, and prisons.
‘Unequivocal defense’
After former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led a group of House members in filing their resolution of “unequivocal defense” of former president Rodrigo Duterte against the investigation by the International Criminal Court into the bloody war on drugs, the Senate is following suit.
Skipping any attempt to be original, Sen. Robinhood Padilla filed his version of the resolution of unequivocal defense of Duterte against the ICC probe before the Senate last Monday.
Soon after, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada stepped in with a resolution of his own, one of “strong opposition” to the ICC probe on the pretext that allowing it would be “questioning the fully capable judicial system” in the country and “disrespecting the sovereignty” of the Philippines.
Principles from vigilance against false accusations to serving the public interest and standing by the integrity of our judicial system can be found in their fortified arguments against the ICC probe. But there is also no disclaimer in any of these resolutions that Arroyo, Padilla, or Estrada were beneficiaries of political favor from Duterte when he was President.
Sweet deals
The group Save the Sugar Industry Movement (SAVE-SIM) was quick to slam the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) last week for issuing Sugar Order No. 6 (SO6), which permits the importation of 440,000 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar this year.
At the heart of their protest against SO6 is great apprehension that determining the volume of sugar to be imported and who brings them in is a grand scheme allegedly driven by corruption and sweet deals for government officials and unscrupulous traders.
Also, Senator Risa Hontiveros is on to something as she questioned why a “shipment of sugar in 260 20-foot containers” had arrived in the Port of Batangas last Feb. 9, even before SO6 was issued or entered into effect three days after publication in the UP Law Center. The importer, she said, was All-Asian Countertrade, Inc.
Perhaps, questionable shipments like this are why SAVE-SIM believes “plunder and economic sabotage are being committed” in the country’s prevailing sugar importation system.
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