SC urged to cast eye on ‘forgotten people’ too

As the attention of the Supreme Court is riveted to the Meralco rate increase and similar cases, I draw attention to the cases of the “forgotten people” or more precisely, the “forgotten prisoners.”

I refer to the detention prisoners in the generally overcrowded provincial and city jails all over the country, whose cases are pending before the regional trial courts. Many have been under detention not only for months but for years. Without statistics, I would surmise that they would number not only in the hundreds but in the thousands.

Similarly, I refer to the prisoners detained in the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa, whose convictions have been pending review before the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court for years, perhaps some for more than a decade. To recall the case of Hubert Webb, he was detained for 15 years before eventually being acquitted by the Supreme Court.

The Bill of Rights of our Constitution guarantees to every accused the right to speedy trial and to every person the speedy disposition of his case, whether judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative. But putting this aside, there can be no greater injustice than for a person to be detained for years awaiting the conclusion of trial and judgment on his indictment.

The injury is palpable and, indeed, becomes inhuman if, at the end, the accused is acquitted. But even if eventually convicted, the anguish of awaiting judgment is, in itself, an oppressive punishment. Worse, the long detention may work to catalyze a conviction.

As one who has deeply felt the value of oral arguments to have a truly collegiate and informed decision before the Supreme Court, it is with deep sadness that oral arguments are hardly ever held on those cases. On the other hand, although perhaps of national importance, cases which attract media attention—like the Priority Development Assistance Fund and, more recently, the Meralco rate case—receive the immediate attention of the Court, for which comments are required forthwith on the petition and a hearing is promptly set.

The “liberty” of a single individual, if I may suggest, is priceless.

—ESTELITO P. MENDOZA,

emram@globelines.com.ph