Gender-sensitive judges

Judges are arbiters of litigants’ complaints, but they can do so much injustice if they are not gender-sensitive in their adjudication of cases. They can do damage to women complainants in their court actuations and in the writing of decisions.

It is apropos that Gender Justice Awards have been initiated by women and civic organizations with the view to raising the level of awareness of judges on the need for rendering gender-sensitive decisions particularly on violence against women (VAW) cases. These advocates believe that the practice of many judges and prosecutors perpetuate in their decisions the misconceptions and biases against women victims of violence.

The search for such judges which was launched last December by the University of the Philippines Center for Women’s Studies (UP-CWS) and the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, has yielded the names of outstanding judges who will be given awards at the Discovery Suites in Pasig City tomorrow, August 18, from 2-5 p.m. Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide Jr. will be keynote speaker. Other guests include UP President Francisco Nemenzo, Jr. and Commissioner Purificacion Quisumbing of the Commission on Human Rights.

Judge Ma. Nimfa Penaco-Sitaca of the Regional Trial Court of Misamis Occidental will receive the Outstanding Judge Award. Other winners are Cliffon U. Ganay and Eloida Patricia R. de Leon-Diaz from Luzon; Edgar G. Garvilles from the Visayas; Jacob T. Malik from Mindanao, and Teodoro A. Bay from the National Capital Region.

A special award will be given to Bensaudi Arabani, Sr. of the Shari’a Court in Mindanao, and two novelty awards to Anthony E. Santos and Edgardo L. delos Santos.

Members of the board of judges include former Justice Leonor I. Luciano, Sheila Coronel of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and lawyer Lorna Kapunan of the Women’s Business Council.

To give you an idea on why Judge Penaco-Sitaca is this year’s outstanding judge, below are excerpts from the judges’ notes.

"Judge Nimfa Penaco-Sitaca’s decisions are concise, lyrically written, and to the point. She makes her pronouncements with a clarity that is rare in the courts, doing away with pretentious legalese and unnecessary verbiage. Most of all, her decisions betray a keen understanding of human nature and an unerring of what is right and what is wrong. They show compassion, especially for sexually abused young women, and a determination to make sure that justice is done to them and their wrongdoers get what they deserve.

"Judge Sitaca is capable of righteous rage, as evidenced in her decision convicting a 43-year-old farmer of prostituting a 13-year-old girl, whom he paid with money and gifts in exchange for sex. As she stated in her decision in People of the Philippines vs. Fred B. Blasco: ŒThe court understands the shame and self-loathing (the victim) feels over the experience which will haunt and continue to haunt her, perhaps for the rest of her life..’"

Judge Sitaca’s decisions show particular concern for children who have been sexually abused by men they trust, including family members. In sentencing a grandfather to life imprisonment for the rape of his seven-year-old granddaughter, she said in a tersely worded decision: ŒAn abundance of words is not required for the court to see what the private complainant went through.’ She also deftly set aside the accused claim that the child’s mother made her invent the charges. ŒWould a mother deliberately expose her child to the difficulty of a court examination and have her private parts examined just to get even with a father-in-law for a resentment, imagined or real? Accused’s contention is difficult to believe. It is likewise settled jurisprudence that no mother would publicly expose a young daughter’s dishonor for the purpose of satisfying an evil motive against the accused.’"

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I received emails asking where people could get a copy of the classical guitarist Michael Dadap’s Himig ng Puso CD. Get them from his brother, Jun Dadap, whose cellphone is 0918-9298-162. Or from the founder of Bravo Filipino Music society Bert Robledo, at tel. 7293556. . . Another email-sender said Michael’s wife, Yeow Cheng Ma, is a violinist, not a cellist. Yeow is also the sister of Yo Yo Ma, the world’s No. One cellist.

My favorite university, Silliman, will turn 103 years old on August 28. To celebrate that milestone, the Silliman University Greater Manila Alumni Association will hold a dinner-dance on August 21 at the Hyatt Hotel on Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City. For tickets, call Silliman Alumni Office, 5232993, 5219764, or 5247120 or at the entrance of Harana Room.

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