links: https://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2016/1006_pangilinan1.asp
SOLUTION TO KILLINGS: MODERNIZE JUSTICE SYSTEM, "UPGRADE THE HARD DRIVE" - PANGILINAN
Senator Francis Pangilinan on Wednesday
night took to social media to address his proposed solution on the spate
of killings going on in the country.
In his Facebook post, Pangilinan
reiterated his call to convene the Joint Judiciary, Executive, and
Legislative Advisory and Consultative Council (JJELACC), which was last
convened in 2009 and granted the Judiciary a P2.4 billion increase in
their budget.
"Convene the JJELACC, modernize our
system of justice to punish the guilty swiftly and extrajudicial
killings and disregard for the rule of law will be a thing of the past,"
Pangilinan said.
"I have been asked what the solution is
to the illegal drugs problem and I have said that a system of justice
that punishes the guilty and absolves the innocent swiftly regardless is
key. If our system of justice punishes the guilty and absolves the
innocent swiftly in a process that is fair, extrajudicial killings will
not be happening in the country today," the senator explained.
To further materialize his call,
Pangilinan filed Senate Resolution 79 which urges the President to
convene the JJELACC to strengthen the administration of justice as a
means to end criminality and disregard of the rule of law.
The JJELACC, as stated in Pangilinan's
resolution, aims to strengthen the consultation and coordination among
the three branches of government to uphold the rule of law, with
addressing the issue of killings as among its priorities.
Pangilinan also posted excerpts from the
article he wrote in 2009 entitled "Four Proposed Solutions to Help Fix
the Philippines" as his proposal to addressing corruption which also
applies to addressing criminality in the country.
In the excerpt, he wrote: "Pervasive
corruption will not cease unless we punish more and we punish swiftly
and we cannot punish more and punish swiftly unless we modernize our
Judiciary and provide it with the necessary resources to do so. So many
politicians decry corruption yet apart from exposes, they have not
presented concrete steps to address corruption."
The concrete steps from Pangilinan's
article in his personal blog, www.kilosko.blogspot.com, were reposted on
Facebook as follows:
1. Increase Conviction Rates
The conviction rate of the Ombudsman in
the Sandiganbayan (the anti graft court) for corruption cases is pegged
at an estimate of less than 20 percent. For every 10 cases filed, less
than two end up in conviction. The rest of the cases are dismissed. No
wonder there is no fear of committing corrupt acts. More than 8 out of
10 get away it. This is in sharp contrast to the conviction rates in
Hong Kong for corruption cases which is pegged at 79 percent. Nearly 8
out of 10 are convicted.
Hence if we are to punish more we must
focus on upping the conviction rates to 50 percent within a three-year
period and perhaps reach 65 to 70 percent within 6 years from 2010. When
more are punished and punished swiftly, respect for the rule of law
will return. It is the certainty of punishment that instills fear and
respect for our laws. It is the task of the justice system to ensure
that the conviction rates are upped. An anti-corruption task force must
be organized at the highest levels to monitor the big cases and to
ensure that government resources are harnessed to ensure convictions
within a period of 18 to 24 months from the time of its organization.
The proverbial big fish must not be allowed to get away.
2. Double Judiciary Budget
In addition, we must modernize the
Judiciary. The Judiciary Executive Legislative Advisory Council (JELACC)
was created in 2007 precisely to address the budget woes of the
Judiciary. The Philippine Judiciary receives a measly sum of less than
one percent of the national budget. The remaining 97 plus percent goes
to the Executive department while some 2 percent goes to the Legislative
Department. The bulk of the funds are with the Executive.
By upping the budget of the Judiciary to
say 2 percent of the 1.17 trillion national budget we give rise to the
swift dispensation of justice, the creation of more courts, construction
of justice halls, the filling up of vacancies of existing courts, the
augmenting of the compensation and benefits of judges, prosecutors, and
court personnel. Through the JELACC, the budgetary target of 2 percent
or in real terms some 20 plus billion pesos can be achieved within a
period of 6 years or within the term of a sitting president.
3. Reduce Average Case life/Create more Courts
It takes 6 long years on average for a
case to be decided upon in the first level courts. This is too long.
With the increase in budgetary support for the judiciary, our courts
through the leadership of the Supreme Court must endeavor to reduce the
average life span of a case that remains pending before our courts.
Today, data reveals that the average case life is 6 years. This does not
include appeals. This is totally unacceptable. Within a period of six
years and with the creation of more courts, appointment of more judges,
the filling up of vacancies in the judiciary, the life span of a case on
average should be reduced to 2 years maximum.
Research provided by the Supreme Court
shows that the ideal ratio of the number of judges per number of people
is one judge for every 10,000. Our situation is that there is one judge
for every 50,000 or 5 times more than the ideal number. We must create
more courts to be able to reach the ideal level and to be able speed up
the disposition of cases. When cases are resolved swiftly and fairly
then the respect, trust, and confidence in our justice system are
reinforced immensely.
If the nation is likened to a computer,
the judicial system is the hard drive and its natural resources, its
educated work force, and its economic investments among others its
software. No amount of the latest software made available will matter if
the hard drive is not effectively in place.
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