MANILA (PHILIPPINES)
Panay News [Iloilo, Phillipines]
October 9, 2023
By Fr. Shay Cullen
WHAT is causing delays in our court and justice system is that the good-hearted, hard-working judges of the Family Courts are overloaded, underpaid, underfunded, and underappreciated.
Most judges and prosecutors are dedicated and are working hard without fear or favor to cope with the backlog of many child sex abuse cases and deliver speedy justice, but some just cannot cope.
Likewise, the offices of the prosecutors are understaffed and also overloaded with cases. The need for more prosecutors and a special Children’s Court is clear.
In one court in Cagayan province, a Catholic priest is on trial for several alleged counts of rape and sexual assault against a 15-year-old church volunteer. The judge is so overburdened with many cases that the court will be unable to hear the testimony of the child victim until February 2024.
After pre-trial hearings with the defense and prosecution, the trial is scheduled for three years, until May 2026. The hearings will be held only every two to four months. The accused priest has to stay in jail, and the child is waiting, suffering, and longing for her day in court.
That is just one of many delayed cases surely of concern to Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier and Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva, who listened to the plea of Mr. Francis Bermido Jr., president of the Preda Foundation, for speedy trials for child abuse victims. Members of the Department of Justice were also present at that round-table discussion organized by Preda and the Embassy of Canada in the Philippines.
Mr. Bermido’s speech was well-received as it outlined the challenges faced by the judicial system during the high-level roundtable discussion at the Makati Diamond Residences on Aug. 1, 2023. This very issue of overburdened judges and prosecutors needing help from the establishment of a Special Children’s Court was raised by no less than Mama Fatima Singhateh, the UN rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children.
The most successful and child-friendly judges will be appointed to these high-profile, prestigious Children’s Courts when they are established, as the UN rapporteur requested.
They will show the world that the Philippines is making serious changes that will help the child victims of abuse get speedy delivery of justice as promised by the Constitution, so that not even priests are above the law as many now are.
The church authorities tend to cover up such crimes and pressure authorities to favor the accused clergy. Although the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has said there will be no cover-up of child sex crimes by priests or interference in cases, it is very likely there is.
Pope Francis had to intervene to remove from the priesthood a Filipino priest facing serious allegations of child sexual. The Chancellor of the diocese issued a letter announcing the expulsion of the priest.
Why has the priest not been charged and brought to justice when there is strong evidence of child abuse? The victims are denied justice, and such heinous crimes as child rape and sexual assault must not be settled with money as presently happens.
Abused children find protection and shelter from their abusers in the therapeutic healing center of the Preda Foundation, where there are now 64 victims being healed and empowered. They win as many as 18 convictions every year against their abusers.
Dedicated prosecutors are overloaded too, and the Department of Justice needs to appoint more skilled, dedicated prosecutors. The child victims suffer greatly during these long delays, waiting for justice and peace of mind and heart. (To be continued)/PN