1. JUSTICE DELAYED AND DENIED IN THE PHILIPPINE COURTSAccording to Lloyd Duhaime “Time is memory’s theif” (“Delays in Reasons for Judgement”, 2013). How can justice be rendered when the courts allow cases to take months to years before its final resolution. True facts and circumstances are forgotten due to the outstanding delay our justice system provides. How are witnesses supposed to properly attest to the events of the case when years have been allowed to elapse in between the event and their narration on the witness stand? Example is the Maguindanao Massacre Case, there are only several witnesses who are willing to testify against the culprit politician, but allowing the case to stay pending for a substantial period of time shall create doubt in their testimonies, which will be in favour of the opposing party. Supposing that the accused is indeed guilty, the absence of absolute proof shall not render fair justice sought by the victims; and the delay shall enable the party of the accused to convince witnesses to back-down from taking the witness stand. The victims are aggrieved by the whole situation of the delay, let alone if the delay shall continue. Indeed justice delayed is justice denied, this is one of the circumstances why the Philippine Judicial System denies everyone in its jurisdiction, justice. There are several underlying factors on why there is such delay, some of which include: economic capacity of parties, judges, government, and etc. The bottom-line seems to be the corruption in the country, which is far from being eradicated, corrupt government officials, corrupt judges, and wealthy parties who are capable of buying power, leaving the poor to be denied justice. “The definition of justice varies from individuals to individuals on the basis of its economic conditions” according to Bhaskar De (Bhaskar De, “Justice Delayed is Justice Denied”). This holds true in the Philippines, and applies not only to its justice system. The Philippines is living within a morality that money and power rules everything, people with more money tend to be more powerful, at the prejudice of the less fortunate. Only few are able to stand up against them. In the Philippine justice system, despite a competent judge tasked to render speedy judgment, the wealthy are able to find ways to delay cases in order for such to rule in their favour in the long run. The less fortunate cannot keep up with the lengthy delays in judgment requiring them to spend more of what little they have on more appearance fees of attorneys, more payment for required pleading, most of which succumb to such disadvantage and end up dismissing cases due to financial incapacity. Litigation is not cheap, it is expensive, and its expense also depends on the expertise of the lawyer chosen, lawyers with more experience tend to charge higher fees. In the current situation, no one is free from exploitation from those with more power; justice can prevail when everyone is at the same footing as everyone else. Notice cases with parties of the same financial capabilities tend to be resolved in a speedier manner than those cases where one party is wealthier than the other. Wealth can also be controlling in other different ways, and judges are not exempted from succumbing to such evil temptations. Judges may unduly delay cases without justifiable grounds to be able to satisfy a bribe or consideration of one of the parties. Unethical as it is, but it exists within our judicial system. Countless administrative cases reflect this fact. In the case of Dysico vs. Dacumos (AM MTJ-94-999, September 1996), Judge Dacumos was found guilty of accepting bribes and unreasonably delayed the resolution of motions. It was found that Judge Dacumos accepted fees and partook in a so called “merienda” offered by one of the parties and delaying the case by seven months after the 90-day period allowed by law. The bottom-line among all these causes of delay is corruption, both within our judiciary and our government. Corruption, according to the World Bank Organization, is “the abuse of public office for private gain”. Public office is abused for private gain when an official accepts, solicits, or extorts a bribe. It is also abused when private agents actively offer bribes to circumvent public policies and processes for competitive advantage and profit (World Bank Organization, “Helping Countries Fight Corruption”). Before grasping corruption in the judiciary, we must clearly establish how corruption in the government affects the judiciary

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in aspects of rendering justice. A corrupt government is an inefficient government. Look at the situation of the Philippines, we have annual budgets amounting to billions but the benefits of which are lightly felt by the constituents. There is clear misappropriation of finances by the politicians that run the government, and one of the effects of which is creating an inefficient and ineffective justice system by not allotting enough courts to hear cases, the constituents’ rights to a speedy trial is prejudiced. Clogged dockets are a result of the selfish interests of politicians. With corrupt politicians in the abuse of their office, also follow corrupt judiciaries in pursuit of their own interests at the prejudice of justice. Judicial Corruption It may involve bribes, theft of public funds or property, favouritism for friends or family, political interference, criminal extortion, or hierarchical pressures within the judiciary; whether petty or grand in its magnitude (USAID, “Reducing Corruption in the Judiciary”). All of which contribute to the delay of justice. Because of the ongoing corruption in the government and judiciary, the Philippines has been criticized by its own citizens for being the slowest judicial system in the world. The question now stands on what needs to be done? The head of the judiciary must implement stricter efforts in investigating and punishing corrupt judges within the system; also including lawyers whom by which willingly influence judges into corruption. Fristly, the justice system must be maintained to stay independent and impartial, free from undue influence from others that might affect how cases are decided. Secondly, the judicial system must maintain its integrity of being an entity or an organization that uphold professional ethics against corruption. Thirdly, Judges must be kept accountable for erroneous decisions that may fall as precedence to an corrupt system. And lastly, the judiciary must stay transparent. Transparency ensures the constituents that the system is free from undue influence brought about any forms f corruption or even political influence.

John Jeric S. Lim

2. HOW EFFECTIVE ARE THE PHILIPPINE LAWS: DISASTER RISK REDUCTION MANAGEMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE LAWSThe existing laws and policies of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management are sufficient and adequate to prepare for future calamities and prevent casualties and to act on currently occurring natural calamities around the country. Though there is no jurisprudence to the contrary nor supporting this claim, but a scan through the policies will reflect its soundness. As proof of such claim in the absence of jurisprudence, UN special envoy Margareta Wahlström said that “the country’s laws on climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) are the “best in the world,” (Philippine Daily Inquirer May 4, 2012, “UN lauds Philippines’ climate change laws ‘world’s best’”). “You do have now an excellent legal framework for disaster risk reduction and an excellent legal framework for climate adaptation. The basis is really for empowering local governments,” Wahlström said. The Philippines has been consistently recognized for having outstanding laws, those of which protect the rights of people, prosecute criminals, and other special laws such as the disaster risk reduction and climate change laws. But on the other hand, the Philippines is also criticized for its weak governance, meaning weak implementation of laws. Superior laws with inferior implementation will render such laws ineffective. The implementation, similar to other existing laws, is what it missing in the laws and policies of both disaster risk reduction and climate change laws. A concrete is example is Section 19 of the RA 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act; which enumerates the prohibited acts during a disaster. One of which is paragraph (b) providing that “Preventing the entry and distribution of relief goods in disaster-stricken areas, including appropriate technology, tools, equipment, accessories, disaster teams/experts”; violation of which shall be a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (Php50,000.00) or any amount not to exceed Five hundred thousand pesos (php500,000.00) or imprisonment of not less than six (6) years and one (1) day or more than twelve (12) years, or both. As a witness of the Earthquake disaster in Bohol, an as an active participant in the distribution of relief goods, I remember one instance when I heard a controversy of which the Mayor of Maribojoc, one of the town in Bohol majorly affected by the earthquake, barred the distribution of relief goods unless it passed his approval; he barred large organizations including Red Cross and the like. The law does not distinguish the basis of the prevention of the distribution of goods, thus, the Mayor should have been prejudiced by his acts, which resulted in the delay of the distribution of goods. Here, there is an evident lack of implementation of the policies of the disaster risk reduction and management laws that have been praised by the United Nations. It is a waste for good laws to be enacted, but not to be implemented. This is a problem within the governance of the Philippines, as proper implementation is missing. Imagine the Philippines with superior laws and superior implementation, the country shall be one with fewer crimes as everyone shall adhere strictly to the laws enacted.

John Jeric S. Lim

3. HOW THE LEGAL SYSTEM FUELED THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMYThe biggest factor on the growth of the Philippine Economy is good governance more than anything. I would like to think that President Aquino’s efforts in the fight against corruption have benefited the economy, but the growth cannot be the result of one administration alone. It is the result of years and years of economic management that had lead to its increased growth this year, but nonetheless, President Aquino had fuelled the Philippines’ economic growth faster than ever. President Aquino’s battle against corruption had not yet been proved fruitful in the country, there being more accusations than there are actual convictions of actual corrupt officers or politicians. Corruption is the abuse of an office for personal gain; these selfish acts impede the growth of the Philippines as a country, and not just focused on its economy. Though with no one yet convicted against corruption, the Pork Barrel case and other similar cases had proven effective in instilling fear to those corrupt politicians still practicing their evil ways to think twice. This effect has boosted the growth of the Philippines. According to an article by the Heritage Foundation “there are improvements in seven of the Philippines economic freedoms, including significant gains in trade freedom, investment freedom, and freedom from corruption” (The Heritage Foundation, “2014 Index of Economic Freedom”). Indeed the fight against corruption had been recognized worldwide as one of the factors on the growth of the Philippine economy this year. Also according to the Heritage Foundation, “demonstrating a high degree of resilience, the Philippine economy has recorded average annual growth of around 5 percent over the past five years. The government has pursued a series of legislative reforms to enhance the investment environment and incentivize broader-based private-sector job growth”. According to Maria Fe V. Mendoza in her book Economic Reforms for Philippine Competitiveness, she cited several reform proposals in 2010 some of which have contributed to the growth of the Philippine Economy. Firstly, the proposed Fiscal Responsibility Bill, promoting the financial transparency and management within the different sectors of government to increase revenue and decrease expenses; also clearly serves the purpose of fighting against corruption. Second proposal, Excise Tax Reform on Tobacco and Alcohol Products, aiming to increase excise tax on Tobacco and Alcohol products as an added source of revenue. Third proposal, Simplified Net Income Taxation Scheme (SNITS) for professionals and self-employed, aiming to decrease the allowable deductions so as to prevent abuse of the system. Last proposal, Amendments to Tariff and Customs Code, which aims to prevent to loss of billions of revenue due to smuggling of goods. These are the types of reforms that improve the revenue of the Philippines and which subsequently result to the increase in its economy. Reforms against corruption advocating transparency within government sectors instil confidence into new investors. Corruption scares away both future and present investors. Collecting undue amount of taxes and fees from corporations willing to invest on the Philippines is a hindrance to its growth, as is it more likely to discourage and to prevent corporations from even investing the Philippines. Now that the President has made it clear that he is fighting against corruption, currently existing investors have been expanding and several new investors have been putting their money into the country. This is evident through the numerous high-rise buildings being built in the business districts of the Philippines. In the case of the Philippine economy, corruption is the root of all evil. Corruption is an expense more than a revenue and does not promote any kind of growth nor provide any type of benefit to the country. With the fight against corruption steadily being implemented, the growth of the economy also steadily growing. But with the new challenges facing the country every day there is only one solution for the continuance of this steady growth, and this is, according to Richard Javad Heydarian, “to achieve sustainable development, it will need a political administration, which is focused on effective governance and the enhancement of the regulatory capacities and developmental policies of the state” (Richard Javad Heydarian,

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“The Philippines: The next Asian Tiger economy?”). If the Philippines shall succumb to a corrupt leader, the growth of the Philippines in the future is not certain. Thought there is evident growth in the economy; poverty has still to be overcome; thus, constant and steady growth of the economy is needed, not for the next year but for the next 10-20 years to come. The continued fight against corruption has sparked the growth of the economy, and the growth of the economy shall spark the eradication of poverty in the Philippines.

John Jeric S. Lim

A PRELIM PAPERON LEGAL WRITING

By

JOHN JERIC S. LIM

John Jeric S. Lim