I Love Pinoys

By Aries C. Rufo
abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak

Chief Justice Reynato Puno acknowledged today that justice remains a pipe dream for majority of Filipinos and efforts to level the playing field “have satisfied little of the large universe of unmet needs of our marginalized people.”

In his opening address at the Forum on Increasing Access to Justice, Puno noted that justice remains elusive to the poor, which explains the general perception that the rule of law favors only the influential and the moneyed.

Participants from the disadvantaged sector –farmers/peasants, fisherfolks, women, children, migrant workers, urban poor, Moro communities, labor (both formal and informal), indigenous peoples and senior citizens—have gathered for the two-day forum to identify issues and recommend solutions to improve access to justice.

It was the second such gathering initiated by the Supreme Court as an exercise of its rule- making power under the Constitution. The first was the summit of extrajudicial killings held last year. Two of the outputs from that summit were the writ of habeas data and writ of amparo.

Puno, in a short interview with reporters, said the inputs of the participants will be studied by several SC committees for possible inclusion in the Rules of Court. Recommendations which involve proposed legislation will be forwarded to Congress.

Court fees

In his speech, Puno explained why there is such a perception that justice is only for the wealthy: “This is due to a variety of reasons—lack of knowledge of their rights under the law, lack of resources to fight for their rights, exorbitant cost of justice, lack or ineffective legal representation, delays in the dispensation of justice, complex and incomprehensible legal procedure, anti-poor laws, judges who decide case without considering their social context. …the poor complain that the playing field in our justice system is titled against them.”

Puno cited the many inroads that the Supreme Court, with support from other government and funding agencies, has initiated to improve the poor people’s access to justice. He noted for instance the Access for the Poor Project in 36 municipalities that aims to increase awareness of stakeholders on their rights and the court-annexed mediation that helped unclog the courts of pending cases.

One recurring theme raised by the representatives from the various stakeholders is the mandated court fees that many litigants could not afford.

At present, only those earning less than P3,000 a month are classified as pauper litigants which exempt them from paying the docket fees. The low threshold disenfranchises the majority of the poor from being classified as pauper litigants.

Another common issue is the prohibitive cost of hiring a lawyer.   This was exemplified in the forum by Nimfa Melegrito, a former overseas Filipino worker, who sought legal help from Kanlungan Center Foundation in going after her employer and agency. Melegrito said she could not afford the P2,500 appearance fee required by a private lawyer and other related legal costs.

“I know other OFWs who wanted to file cases against their employer and agency but they could not afford the lawyer’s fee. I am not a lawyer but I understand we OFWs should be exempted from legal fees under RA 8042. Why is this not being implemented?” she asked.

Lack of courts

Peasant sector representative Renato Penas, paralegal officer of the Sumilao farmers’ MAPALAD Farmers’ Cooperative, suggested that courts relax the rules that will allow paralegals to represent litigants and participate in cases.  Penas also noted the bias of judges against paralegals, by branding them as “subversives or fixers.”

Other sectors pointed out that even courts and lawyers are not equipped with legal background and training related to existing laws, rules and regulations.

In the case of the fisherfolk sector, for instance, Regino Penales, president of a fisherfolk group in Bohol, said some judges are not well-versed on fishery laws and rules. On farmer’s issues, Penas also noted that some members of the bench have limited knowledge on agrarian laws.

Another roadblock is the lack of courts in the country, and lack of specialized courts to handle specific cases. In Cebu for instance, there are only three Family Courts, prompting other courts to handle cases involving domestic issues even without the proper special training.

The lack of courts is exacerbated by vacant court rooms, particularly in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and lack of prosecutors. Lawyer Laisa Masuhud Alamia, of the Bangsamoro Lawyer’s Network, revealed that many courts in ARMM “are not functional” for lack of judges. She also noted that there is only one fiscal for Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and one Public Attorney’s Office for Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat.

In calling for the summit, Puno noted that “we cannot win the fight for the poor overnight” but “we should prevail overtime.” He said the only way that the effort will be lost “is when we lose our sense of revolt on the revolting lives of the poor.”

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