Delayed justice? Guevarra cites shortage in prosecutors

MANILA, Philippines — The shortage of government prosecutors is among the reasons why the wheels of justice turn slowly in the country, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said.

“That’s our major problem – we don’t have enough prosecutors,” he said during a pre-State of the Nation Address forum last week, explaining that addressing the shortage is necessary to expedite the resolution of criminal complaints pending before the National Prosecution Service (NPS), the prosecutorial arm of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

He also revealed that there are hundreds of appointments for prosecutors that have remained pending before the Office of the President since the time of his predecessor, resigned justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II.

“We have submitted quite huge number of prosecutors for appointment so we are hoping that their appointments will come very soon,” Guevarra added.

He believes there is also a need to improve on the selection and recruitment of lawyers so that the department would get “only the better ones.”

For the meantime, Guevarra said the DOJ is coping with the massive docket and case backlog with its current prosecutors.

 The judiciary has admitted its own share in the slow pace of justice in the country, citing the lack of courts and judges to quickly resolve cases, although the Supreme Court has proactively taken steps to address these problems.

Guevarra also lamented how corruption has remained a problem in the DOJ.

 “Corruption, sad to say and I have to admit, is still there because of the element of discretion. Our prosecutors engage in performing what we may call a quasi-judicial function so there’s an element of discretion. But whenever discretion is available, there’s always temptation (of corruption),” he said in the same forum.