Lawless

Cong Corrales 

“Our people have seen what a mob can do in the hands of a tyrant who knows no law but his own. Lest we forget, the first person that Marcos executed was a drug pusher. But did he stop there?” –Atty. Jose Manuel “Chel” I. Diokno, national chairman, Free Legal Assistance Group; trustee, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

A COLLEAGUE posted a “crowd sourcing” question on his Facebook asking for one word to describe Digong Dada’s one year as president of the Republic.

I answered, “Unstable.” It should have been “lawless.” If there is a word to define this administration it is lawless.

Lawless in the sense that it holds the distinction of throwing due process out the window. It doesn’t adhere to what the Supreme Court says. It even mocks the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations.

It employs secret jails. It kills suspects, albeit with a veneer of legality, with impunity.

Although it has vowed to launch “change” in the country, the five pillars in the criminal justice system — just like before — is still pretty much only available to the rich and powerful.

The five pillars must work in concert with each other with checks and balances between them in order to best serve the public. Criticism of the Filipino legal system often centers around issues of disconnect. The five pillars represent many different facets of the legal system and society.

These are:

1.) law enforcement, including the Philippines the National Police and National Bureau of Investigation;

2.) prosecution, including the National Prosecution Service and judge advocate services;

3.) the courts,  including all levels from regional to the Supreme Court;

4.) corrections, including the prison, parole, and probation systems;

5.) community, including local governments and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Case in point are drug users who have voluntarily surrendered to authorities under Masa Masid but were gunned down days later, anyway. These incidents are all too familiar to most of us.

The other branch of government, by the way, is too wimped out after this administration made an example of one of its members who is currently languishing in jail.

Until this administration learns to respect the rule of law, justice, and the fundamental rights of its citizen again, we will remain waist-deep in bovine excrement. Well, at least for the next five years. That is if we are still alive, by then.