Our article on judicial independence shall be divided into four parts considering how vital this concern is in transforming our justice system and strengthening our Philippine democracy. In this first part of our discussion we shall tackle the Basic concepts of Judicial Independence by stressing its importance in relation to our democracy. Our second part will tackle the present realities in our Judicial system that hampers attainment of genuine democracy. The third part will be devoted to Judicial Budget and Fiscal autonomy which also impacts on judicial independence. Lastly, we will discuss recommendations in order to attain real and true Judicial Independence.
Filipinos must learn how to love and value democracy especially because we experienced dictatorship and martial law under the Marcos regime. We experienced the pain and trauma of not to being able to enjoy our God given rights and freedoms and the rights and freedoms provided for under the Bill of Rights of the constitution for a very long period of time.
We experienced the cruelty of our government during those dark days of dictatorship and martial law. Sadly, many Filipinos especially those living below the poverty line and those who continue to experience various forms of injustices and discrimination, do not see the difference between the years of martial rule and days when democracy was already restored.We cannot blame them simply because they continue to be dehumanized and suffer from the inequities in our society. We have to aspire for every Filipino to live with dignity and self-worth.
All of us who value our rights and freedoms must actively take part in ensuring that we attain genuine democracy in our beloved country. As it is today, we need to do much more in order that the Filipino nation can truly claim that we succeeded in restoring democracy in our country. It is a sad reality that we still have a fledgling democracy despite the 28 long years after the triumphant Edsa People Power revolution.
Article 11, Section 1 of our 1987 Philippine Constitution provides: " The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them." This means that the Filipino people who overwhelmingly ratified the constitution and are the rulers must be obeyed by those whom they tasked to be their representatives thru the Rule of Law. Thus it said that "we are a government of laws and not of persons."
The Filipino people whom our president, Benigno Simeon Aquino III, PNOY, rightly calls his boss, is supposedly the bosses of all government officials and government workers. The bosses are the principals and the officials and workers are the representatives or the agents. Thus, the call to stop the "wang wang mentality" was very popular considering that majority of the Filipino citizens have become angry about how their representatives or agents are abusing their authority that emanates from the people.
Many of our government representatives or workers belong or work with any of the 3 main branches of our government namely: the executive, legislative and the judiciary. Each of the three branches have different functions designed and are provided for in the constitution to ensure that democratic processes are upheld all the time. The legislative branch of our government is the law making body. The executive branch of the government is tasked to enforce or implement the laws. The judiciary is assigned to interpret the laws.
Article V1 Section 1 of our Constitution provides: " The legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives, except to the extent reserved to the people by the provision on initiative and referendum". Under a democratic system of government, only Congress is in charge of lawmaking. Under the Marcos dictatorship then President Marcos issued a lot of Presidential Decrees which have become part of the laws of our land and as a matter of fact many of those PD's continue to be in effect up to now.
Article V11 Section 1 of our Constitution provides: " The executive power shall be vested in the President of the Philippines." The President appoints Cabinet Secretaries of the various departments of government that help him or her enforce or implement the various laws passed by Congress. Several of these departments belong to the pillars of the Criminal Justice System like the Department of Justice (DOJ) where the Offices of the Prosecution, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Bureau of Corrections (BUCOR) the Public attorneys' Office (PAO), among others, administratively belong.
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is another important department where the Philippine National Police (PNP) as Law Enforcers, being one of the main pillars of the Criminal Justice System also belong. The Transformative Justice Institute has added the BJMP upon their request for said Bureau of Jail Management Penology to be included as part of the Criminal Justice System. This is proper considering the fact that the BJMP takes care of detainees whose cases are not speedily disposed of by the courts and thus their basic rights to the speedy disposition of cases are violated.
Likewise, we have included the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in the 8 pillars of the Criminal Justice System considering its programs on women, children and families. Oftentimes, victims of Violence are assisted by the DSWD who are tasked to manage crisis intervention centers in various localities.
Those tasked in the administration of justice oftentimes encounter government workers in these three departments: DOJ, DILG, and DSWD all under the executive branch of our government. This fact is oftentimes not clearly understood by many people including court users and stakeholder. So if there are problems in Law Enforcement, Prosecution, Correction and Penology, assistance to victims of abuses, legal assistance to accused who cannot afford to pay a defense counsel, it is immediately the courts or the judiciary that is blamed.
This is not of course right. Those tasks involving law enforcement, prosecution, correction and penology among others, belong to the executive branch of government. That is the reason why our advocacy does not only center in judicial reform but on the transformation of the entire justice system that even includes the pillar where we all belong which is the community.
Article V111 Section 1 provides: " The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and such lower courts as may be established by law." Under the Supreme Court, we have the Sandiganbayan, the Court of Appeals, the Court of Tax Appeals, the Regional Trial Courts and the Municipal/City courts as well as the Shari'ah courts. The judiciary is principally tasked in the interpretation of the laws. The final judgments or decisions of the Supreme Court form part of the law of the land.
The Judiciary's role is mainly to hear cases and find out the facts, and apply the laws involving the set of facts brought before them. The symbol of a blindfolded lady justice holding the scale of justice projects that administration of justice is blind as to those who are involved in the various cases before the courts or the judiciary. The judges and justices should never consider on who are the personalities or the litigants involved in the various cases or their status in society. They should never be influenced by any other factor in deciding cases except to apply the set of laws to the facts established in the trial of cases.
Judges and justices should not be concerned about who are the politicians who are in power and their relationship or connection to those who are involved in cases before them. Article V111 Section 7 paragraph (3) provides: " A member of the Judiciary must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity and independence".
Independence means one shall remain impartial all the time. No amount of ties whether blood ties, fraternity ties, political ties or friendship shall sway a judge or justice to favor a party in a case. That is the meaning of making judgments or decisions purely on the basis of the facts and the laws applicable to the cases before the courts. If a judge or a justice perceives that he cannot remain impartial due to whatever reason such as fraternity ties he or she must inhibit from handling the case.
The well loved and famous former Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court, Justice J. B. L. Reyes who was the first National President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines is often quoted for his famous motto that appears in every identification card of IBP members which states "No Master, But Law; No Guide, But Conscience, No Aim, But Justice. "
Judicial independence is very vital to the growth and development of a nation. The judiciary particularly the Supreme Court when freed from any form of influence and merely reliant on the facts and the laws brought before them, is able to come up with truly good decisions such as the recent Supreme Court decision on the abolition of PDAF or the so called pork barrel funds by Congress. In instances where it was reported that the Supreme Court flipped-flopped in several cases, it was pointed out to be connected with a favored lawyer and not because of the facts and the laws involving the cases.
Indeed, Congress should not be involved in implementation of projects as it is the task of the executive branch of the government. Of course we are all aware that the main reason why the practice of pork barrel fund allocation has subsisted for a very long time is precisely because of political patronage. Such practice negatively impact on the needed independence of the main branches of the government to enable them to check and balance each other which are key factors for a strong democratic system.
The functions of the three main branches of the government are very basic and clearly spelled out in the constitution. To strengthen our democratic system all the branches have to do and exercise their mandates particularly their roles on checks and balances. By failing to exercises checks and balances, democracy suffers and when it does, the usual victims are the poor, the disadvantaged and the disempowered including many women and children.
The study of the basic and fundamental law of the land, the Constitution, is a prerequisite in practically all college courses. The study of the Constitution is even tackled in High School and should even be done in grade school. The functions and roles of the three main branches of the government must be understood early in life by every Filipino so that they will be properly educated, enabled and empowered in the area of pushing and demanding for the strengthening of democracy and the rule of law.
We should all know the Preamble of the Philippine Constitution by heart. A simple review even of that preamble will show to us how far we are, as a nation, to what is ideal. There is a widespread dehumanization that we see in contrast to our aspiration of building a just and humane society. By way of example many Filipinos subscribe to the belief that summary killings and execution is the appropriate way of dealing with criminals or even those suspected of having committed a crime. They totally abhor human rights and the due process of law. This happens precisely because the criminal justice system is not functioning the way it should.
Further review of Articles V1, V11 and V111 of our Constitution with regard to the three main branches of the government will clarify to us how weak are our present government institutions not because of the law but because of the intertwining culture of patriarchy, corruption and impunity in the justice system.
We shall tackle this reality about the pervasive intertwining culture that hampers effective administration of justice and attainment of genuine democracy and the rule of law in our country in the 2nd part of our discussion on the Judicial independence. Please watch for it.
Proverbs Chapter 3 verses 21 to 24 states: " My child, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet."
Dory Cruz Avisado
1-21-14
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