Plaintive cry for justice

One of the lopsided provisions in the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) is that allowing the USA to have custody of the members of its visiting armed forces accused of a crime committed here and to hold it free from any responsibility for such custody if the criminal case against them is not decided by the trial court within one year from the filing of the charges. There is no criminal case in this country that has been decided in one year. Even the trial of the more sensational, headline hugging ones has never been terminated within such a short period. People’s short attention span for such sensational cases and the ever so slow wheels of justice in this country simply do not allow such an expeditious trial to happen. Too many cases once in the limelight and off to a speedy trial are now buried deep in the clogged court dockets.

During these early days of the New Year, one case comes to mind precisely because it is one of those always in the news at this time more than three years ago. This case is one very concrete proof why I believe that Subic rape case will not be decided within one year. This is the case of three (3) women and three (3) male employees of a famous Cebu Resort who were waylaid and almost fatally killed when fired upon 73 times by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents last December 13, 2002. Charges of multiple frustrated murder and double attempted murder have long been filed against the NBI men before the Regional Trial Court of Mandaue City Branch 56 (Criminal Case No. DU-10123). Since its filing, the case has moved at such a snail’s pace that it may take several more years before it will be decided only by the lower court whose decision may still be appealed. This is the kind of pace that awaits the rape case in Subic. It is true that the offenders and victims in this case are all Filipinos but will it make a difference if the victim is a Filipino while the offenders are Americans? Is there double standard of justice here that calls for speedier trial just because the offenders are Americans?

Just to dramatize this wistful and plaintive cry for speedy justice among our countrymen, I am reproducing hereunder the letter of Sunshine Gregorio-Suelto one of the victims of the NBI ambush in Cebu. On November 25, 2005, Sunshine wrote me as follows:

"I am one of the 6 victims of the blotched operation of the NBI that happened almost 3 years ago on December 13, 2002. My friends (Michael Monsod, Nenette Castillon, Alfie Fernandez, Don Enabe and Carlo Cajoles) and I were on our way home when a van suddenly blocked the Plantation Bay van we rode in while stopped at a red light in Mandaue City. They did not identify themselves nor were they wearing IDs so we did not know who they were and why they were suddenly shouting at us to get off the van while brandishing firearms of different calibers. Common sense told us to flee because they might be kidnappers or holduppers since it was already 2 a.m. But the commotion became a 30-minute car chase that ended up with 73 bullets to our van and four of us getting hit 4 times in different parts of the body – some near fatal.

Fast forward to now, although the case moved a little early this year, it has lagged yet again. One of the suspected NBI agent has died of some sickness… And yet another one…. is enjoying his ‘kick up’ in Manila because I have recently seen him welcoming former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

We do not understand what is taking so long for this case to be resolved. Also, the Commission on Human Rights has not helped us at all. I have already written to Commissioner Quisumbing but I have yet to receive a response from her. Apparently the CHR does not consider being shot at 73 times a violation of human rights. How many times exactly do we have to be shot at for our rights to be considered violated? They sent some people to conduct investigations in 2003 but that was it. They only asked a few questions and then nothing happened after that.

I keep consoling myself that this is the Philippines and there is nothing I can do about it. I have since gotten married and am having a child this December and I’d hate to tell my daughter that this is the type of country she will open her eyes to; that she comes out and doesn’t have as much right as a person and that she should have been better off not born at all.

I am now currently working in a government agency (so I really cannot lose faith in the country because I do not have a choice), 3 of the other victims are out of the country already and only Castillon is still working in Plantation Bay.

We cannot stop the world from revolving because this happened to us. We all braved up and moved on but it doesn’t mean that we do not carry the scars with us. Not a day goes by that we do not think about what happened and not a day passes that we do not sigh out of frustration because justice still seem bleak in our future.

It has been almost three years but yes, who is counting? Only the 6 of us and our equally traumatized families and friends. But truth is all these can happen to anybody. Consider yourselves lucky".

I hope the authorities involved in the speedy disposition of this case read Ms. Suelto’s letter. Let us not allow our citizens like her and many others who prefer to suffer in silence, completely lose their hope in our justice system.

E-mail: [email protected]