Chierlstine James D.

Morales
11-HUMSS A

The “Delayed and Decayed” Justice System

The justice system of the Philippines is created to deliver justice for all, by convicting and puni
shing the guilty and helping them to stop offending, while protecting the innocent. However; how m
any people have really claimed the justice they are hoping for at the same time when they needed i
t? Is the so-called “justice” still justice if it is delayed?

In the Philippines, one of the massive issues that we are facing regarding the justice system i
s the length it takes for cases to be decided. For example, the Sandiganbayan, which is a constitutio
nal court for public officials, takes an average of 15 years to judge a case. These delays have led to a
cquittals of corrupt public officials. According to Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, the jud
iciary has a backlog of 600,000 cases, with at least a fifth of all trial courts lacking judges. Each year,
overworked prosecutors individually handle some 500 cases, while every public defender is responsi
ble for roughly 5,000 clients. The police are also understaffed by 50,000. With the huge amount of c
ases to be filed everyday and the limited number of courts to handle them, it is inevitable for our co
urt system to decay.

The court have failed many times to adress the injustice of numerous families and individual
s who seek legal redress on time. Justice is almost impossible especially to those poor families who
have no money to hire their own lawyer thus, settling for public lawyers. Their cases are almost alwa
ys ignored and delayed however; on the other hand, if you are rich and powerful, your case will sure
ly be taken care of first. Another thing is if you are rich and powerful, bribe is enough to have the co
urt declare you not guilty.

There is a saying, “Justice delayed is justice denied.” The inability of the Philippines to deliver
fast and efficient justice has inevitably led to the loss of trust of the citizens towards our governmen
t. I deeply believe that most of the ailments of our country have their roots on our “delayed and dec
ayed” justice system. If we strive to focus and solve the problems plaguing our justice system, I am s
ure that most of the problems of the Philippines will also be solved in the process.