Philippines hopelessly divided under a government that stood for “UNITY”

In his recent Inquirer column, Randy David shares his views on the aftermath of the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte. He cites the inutile state of the Philippines’ judicial system which “failed to hold Duterte accountable for the thousands of killings during his brutal drug war.”

[Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla’s] acknowledgement of the ICC as a “court of last resort” for the families of victims of the drug war is a quiet but radical shift. He recognized that our institutions indeed failed, and clearly had no intention, to deliver justice on their own.

While the focus of David’s lament is on the alleged “extra-judicial killings” (EJKs) supposedly perpetrated during Duterte’s drug war, what of the victims of the drug addicts and pushers who also don’t have the resources for extended court proceedings? And that is for cases where the perpetrators are caught by the police, which is another challenge in itself.

A Filipino who faces this conundrum has to prioritize earning a living for his family and not having to pay a lawyer or rely on the unreliable and usually under-experienced and overworked Public Attorney’s Office (PAO lawyer. The victim or the victim’s family, usually doesn’t have the means to take time off from work to attend to the case. The difficulty of the experience often leads to the plaintiffs just giving up and the accused never being prosecuted unless it’s a state case.

There is also the issue of how we obtain evidence and prosecute presidents who run afoul of the law. In the case of former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, the demolition job on him began when he emerged as the top candidate in 1998 and never stopped until he was ousted in 2001.

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) was packaged as the savior by the Yellowidiots until she disagreed with how the Hacienda Luisita case was to be handled. There was also the issue of how she was just supposed to serve the unexpired term of Estrada and not run for re-election. But she decided not to honor the agreement and she faced numerous attempts to oust her during her extended administration. She wasn’t successful in getting her nominated successor appointed and she spent the next five years of the administration of her successor, the late former President Noynoy Aquino, in detention.

Do you see the pattern? Philippine presidents need to get an anointed successor elected to ensure they suffer no revenge-prosecution after the protection of immunity lapses. In Duterte’s case, the Yellowidiots already ran to the International Criminal Court (ICC) even before his term was over. Some Filipinos turn a blind eye to the legitimate issue of sovereignty just because it doesn’t align with their goal of seeing a hated president in detention.

The stability of the government also comes into play. Erap was convicted by the Sandiganbayan but had to be pardoned by GMA to ensure she finished her term.

The incontrovertible truth about the fate of Duterte is he was renditioned to the ICC because he posed a threat to the administration. It remains to be seen what his fate will be under a foreign court whose credibility isn’t beyond question. What’s certain is it has again divided the country in the midst of the midterm election cycle which still has to contend with the impeachment trial of the vice-president who happens to be Duterte’s daughter.

Perhaps this is why why the influential Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) has taken a public stand last Friday. The INC has always maintained neutrality in politics during the most tumultuous periods in the country’s history. It did order its members out in the streets when it perceived that the Aquino administration was going after it during an internal leadership issue. But it didn’t make any formal statement about the administration’s actions.

We face a myriad of problems which we can solve if only our leaders aren’t so busy protecting the status quo which benefits those who rule the country in politics and business. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s wrong with the system. It’s evident. It’s staring at us in our collective faces.

The only hope we have left is in ourselves if we turn to collective action. Otherwise, if we don’t take action then we should accept the consequence of inaction which is counting to see our country go down the path to nowhere.

Ramon Ortoll

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