Even a ‘small cog’ can delay the wheels of justice

IT IS going six months now since the case for rape was filed against a prominent Taiwanese investor at the Olongapo City Prosecutor’s Office last February and which we have reported in this paper previously, along with some of the earlier developments in the case (Pinoy Exposé, April 1 and April 24).

Kudos to the top officials of the Department of Justice (DOJ), particularly to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon and Senior Undersecretary Jesse Andres, for promptly acting on the motions submitted to them by the accused in the interest of justice and fair play.

Kudos also to Olongapo Chief Prosecutor Charlie Yap, for inhibiting his office from further investigating the case after allegation of “bias” against his deputy and another prosecutor was raised by the lawyers of the accused.

Despite this, the three top officials of the DOJ, whom I consider friends, especially SOJ Remulla, may find it surprising that since March, there was no substantive development in the case! “Justice delayed is justice denied?” Well, this falls squarely into one of those lamentable incidents.

First off, the order of PG Fadullon last March 31 to have the two underlings of Yap be investigated based on the complaint now filed before the DOJ’s ‘Prosecution Integrity Board’ has not moved forward. I decline to believe the “rumor” that officials from within the DOJ are themselves trying to delay the investigation against their colleagues.

Too, the lawyer of the accused was surprised to learn that the case, which was ordered transferred to the Office of the Regional Prosecutor for Region 3 by Usec. Andres last May 7 had already been routed to Nueva Ecija and re-raffled there—without his or his client’s knowledge.

How did this happen? Well, the “clerks” merely made sure that their notices were delivered to the wrong address– an old and ugly tactic employed by some unscrupulous elements in any prosecution office.

The “strange” thing also is that since March, the lawyer, Atty. Merlito Lovensky Fernandez, has been regularly following up with the office of PG Fadullon as to the case folder’s whereabouts—but he was only given the runaround.

It was only after his staff threatened to raise a public outcry that he was informed last July 31 that the case folder was already in Nueva Ecija, with the preliminary hearing set on the same day!

To be fair, all these maneuverings were most likely done by those in the lower rungs of the DOJ and the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Pampanga and without the knowledge of their bosses.

The “small fry” that they are or the “small cog” that they are in our criminal justice system, they prove that they have the “power” to frustrate and derail the wheels of justice simply by “hiding” their machinations to their superiors. Ignorance is bliss, after all.

Why did they do it? Well, at this point, possibly to “save” the behind of some of their “friends” and “contacts” not only in the Prosecution Service but in other government agencies involved in the investor’s alleged “frame up.” They include not only those at the Olongapo Prosecutor’s Office, the Regional Prosecutor’s Office, but also, from the SBMA and the PNP-CIDG.

And possibly, they still entertain the “hope” that they can “salvage” the case against the investor? As Atty Fernandez asserts, this “syndicate” is hoping to earn P50 million in “settlement” with the accused.

If corruption has seeped in even in the lowest rungs of our criminal justice system, then, “Houston, we have a problem!”