The Slow Hands Of Justice

[Jack Peterson]

If someone doesn't agree with me then tell us your good experience with the legal system here.

 

:unsure:  I got married by a Judge, will that count as a good legal Experience. :no:  on the other hand lets not go there, I am not in her good books this morning.

 

Sorry Americano,  My Bad. My Sunday morning humour should be denied me some weeks.

 

JP

[scott h]

tell us your good experience with the legal system here

 

I have NO experience with the Philippine legal system and it is one of my primary goals to keep it that way. So I always:

 

Turn the other cheek

Never lend money

Will never go into business (lucky me)

Mind my own business

etc etc etc

[Old55]

Philippines: Five years on, justice for Maguindanao massacre can’t wait

Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu, who lost relatives in the Philippines' worst political massacre, looks at pictures of the suspects.

© NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images

“

Justice delayed is justice denied. Five years after the Maguindanao massacre, the cases are still inching through the Philippine court system and not a single person has been held to account.

”

Hazel Galang-Folli, Amnesty International’s Philippines Researcher

Sun, 23/11/2014

 

The Philippine authorities are running out of time to ensure that their response to the Maguindanao massacre does not become a mockery of justice, Amnesty International said on the fifth anniversary of what is often called the world’s largest-ever single attack on journalists.

 

On 23 November 2009, 58 people, including 32 journalists and other media workers, were killed when an election convoy came under attack by more than 100 armed men, allegedly including members of the police and the military. The convoy had been travelling in the southern province of Maguindanao, through the territory of the powerful Ampatuan clan.

 

“Justice delayed is justice denied. Five years after the Maguindanao massacre, the cases are still inching through the Philippine court system and not a single person has been held to account,” said Hazel Galang-Folli, Amnesty International’s Philippines Researcher.

 

Almost half the 197 suspects for whom arrest warrants have been issued since the massacre remain at large. Meanwhile, no prosecution has been concluded, nor has any perpetrator been convicted.

 

Trials in the civil and criminal cases are ongoing at a Quezon City Regional Trial Court. However, there have been several delays and setbacks and most of the court proceedings have been bail hearings. The families of the victims have also called on the National Police Commission to dismiss police officers allegedly involved in the assault, but it remains to be seen how these demands will be dealt with.

 

Witnesses to the massacre and their families have faced attacks and killings since the massacre, highlighting a lack of government protection. Just this week yet another prospective witness was killed in an ambush in Maguindanao province. At least eight witnesses and their family members have been killed in such attacks since November 2009. No one is known to have been held accountable for these killings either.

 

“Each killing of a witness creates a fresh injustice while reducing the chances of justice being served for the families of the victims of this horrific massacre. This is particularly true in a country like the Philippines where court cases have traditionally relied heavily on witness testimony,” said Hazel Galang-Folli.

 

“The Philippine authorities must get their act together and ensure that accountability for this horrific massacre is given high priority and enough resources.”

 

Dennis Sakal and Butch Saudagal, both of whom were expected to testify against the primary suspects in the massacre were gunned down by unidentified men in Maguindanao on 18 November 2014, killing the former. 

 

Alijol Ampatuan, who according to prosecutors was willing to identify perpetrators, was shot at close range in February 2012. Esmail Amil Enog, who testified in court that he had been a driver for gunmen implicated in the massacre, was found chain-sawed into pieces after disappearing in May 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/philippines-five-years-justice-maguindanao-massacre-can-t-wait-2014-11-23

[MikeB]

My understanding is that 98 of the 197 named suspects are being held w/o bail since these are non-bailable offenses. Does anyone know otherwise? Petitions for bail, in which the state must present “strong evidence of guilt,” is what has slowed this down to a crawl. This is a massive case but the fact that ~100 suspects are at large is a police issue, not judiciary.

[Call me bubba]

back to the case at hand, here is another article by the DOJ head

 

 

 

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima believes the litigation of the Ozone disco tragedy that lasted for 18 years

 

must not be made a gauge of the speed of the wheels of justice in the country.   :hystery: :hystery:

 

The Ozone case is “just one of the few isolated cases of such overly excessive duration” of litigation, she added.

De Lima said perennial issues concerning lengthy court processes are already being addressed with reforms initiated by the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC).

 

“Significant steps and reforms have already be

en undertaken in recent years by the justice sector, in general, and by the Supreme Court and JSCC, in particular,” she said.

“Amendatory provisions had been inputted in the Rules of Court and the mandatory continuous trial system in criminal cases has been re-launched or given special focus or boost recently by the SC leadership.”

 

De Lima said the Department of Justice (DOJ) has strictly imposed rules on periods for completion of preliminary investigation in criminal cases.

“Sanctions like withholding of allowances are imposed on prosecutors who incur inordinate delays in resolving cases, both at the preliminary investigation and petition for review stages,” she said.

 

“I’d like to think that the Ozone case is among the few isolated cases of such overly excessive duration,” she added.

 

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/11/22/14/delayed-ozone-convictions-isolated-case-de-lima

 

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/11/22/1394457/de-lima-delayed-ozone-convictions-isolated-case

 

 

again very interesting comments follow the story

[SubicSteve]

An appeal will be filed and It will be another 5-10 years before this verdict is upheld or thrown out by the supreme court.  Please refrain from posting your response until then.  Thank You.