Philippine News Digest 36
15 - 18 September, 2002
Contents:
Forty-five percent of Philippine courts have no judges
Rallies mark historic ouster of US military bases 11 years ago
4 more Filipino minors cry rape in Sabah jail
Forty-five
percent of Philippine courts have no judges
An official of the Supreme Court disclosed that forty-five percent of
Philippine courts have no judges and warned that this had serious implications
in the implementation of justice. Statistics show that as of Aug. 22, only
1,577 out of 2,026 vacancies for prosecutor have been filled, leaving 449
vacancies. The Department of Justice last month issued an order deputizing
police chiefs to prosecute criminal cases cognizable by the local courts. The
secretary of justice explained that the order was based on the Rules of
Criminal Procedures, which states that when a prosecutor is not available, any
peace officer or public official charged with the enforcement of the law
violated, may prosecute the case. Due to stiff opposition from lawyers and
solons, the justice secretary agreed to suspend the implementation of his
Memorandum Circular No. 40 issued on Aug. 20. The high rate of vacancy in the
judiciary was attributed to the low pay and unattractive compensation package
offered by the government. Source: Michael Lim Ubac, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 15
September 2002.
Rallies mark
historic ouster of US military bases 11 years ago
Militant groups all over the
country marked the 11th anniversary of the abrogation of the RP-US
Military Bases Agreement with rallies denouncing the continued presence of the
US military in different parts of the Philippines. In the Subic Bay Freeport
Zone, site of the former US Naval Base, members of the Senate who made that
crucial vote rejecting the extension of the treaty to another fifty years
gather to unveil the Inang Laya monument which features each of their palm
prints. Former Senate President
Jovito Salonga warned the government that there must be a declaration of a
state of war by Congress beofre the US military could use the country's
airspace. Protesters gathered in Manila, Davao, Cebu, Ilo-ilo and other major
cities, waving streamers that said “No to Invasion of Iraq” in defiance to
the President's unabashed support for a US-led attack on Iraq. Source: Reports from the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Today.
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