Remembering
| C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S |
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| Jonathan De la Cruz |
Last Nov. 23, the nation joined the families, friends and associates of the 57 (58 to include Romy Momay whose body has not been found) victims of what has been tagged as one of the grisliest and most despicable atrocities of our time — the Maguindanao massacre. A year ago on that day a convoy of vehicles carrying the wife, sisters and relatives of then gubernatorial candidate Esmael Mangudadatu and a group of journalists were forcibly stopped and their occupants killed in what has been described as “a most brutal and inhuman manner.” That massacre shook not only the entire nation but the world as well. Now, even as the principal suspects have been arrested and are currently in jail facing the heaviest of sentences available under the law, we cannot help but ask: will justice ever be served at all? Or, as some family members have come to ask rhetorically, will the penalties under our laws ever be enough to assuage the pain of the lost of their loved ones? We can only hope and pray that justice be served and well.
Elusive quest. As things stand, the families’ plea for speedy prosecution may be more wishful thinking than anything else. Our laws and the rules of court are such that litigation can really be so stretched to ridiculous lengths. There are no short cuts, especially since the requisites of due process are such that a simple maybe even inadvertent tweak in the entire workout can be a ground for dismissal of a case. As Sen. Joker Arroyo, himself a veteran litigator and human rights lawyer, noted “...even if the court conducts a daily marathon hearing there will be difficulty in getting it finished as hoped...the case could drag on for the next 200 years...” Explaining himself, Arroyo noted that in a hearing every defendant — all 196 of them — has a right to cross examine any witness. Every side will have to be heard and the judge will have to weigh every appeal and argument raised by any of the parties. Indeed, the quest can be stretched out and frustrating and no matter how the families and even our leaders plead for a speedy trial the same can, at best, be merely treated as an advisory. The rules and respect for the court’s independence say so..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20101126com5.html
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