On March 18, 1996, the worst disco/nightclub fire in Philippine history (ranked No. 6 among the 10 worst nightclub fires in the world) happened. Located along Timog Avenue corner Tomas Morato in Quezon City, Ozone Disco had been approved for occupancy by city authorities for only 35 persons. That fateful night, around 350 guests (most of whom were graduating college and high school students) and 40 employees were partying inside the Club. Shortly before midnight, sparks were seen flying inside the disc jockey’s booth but the party goers thought it was just part of the special effects. Within minutes, fire and smoke engulfed the premises and the mezzanine floor collapsed. One hundred sixty-two perished and 95 were injured.
Many of the victims’ charred bodies were lined up along the corridor leading to the only exit but which had been locked from the outside by the security guards who mistakenly thought that a riot was going on inside. To compound matters, no proper fire exit was installed and that the club’s emergency exit was blocked by the construction of an adjacent building. In other words, Ozone was a veritable fire trap.
Six officials of the establishment’s corporate owner were criminally charged with “reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and multiple serious injuries.” The information alleged, among others, that the owners failed to provide fire exits, sprinklers and working fire extinguishers. On March 16, 2001, the company’s president and treasurer were found guilty by the Quezon City regional trial court, and meted a four-year prison sentence and fined P25 million each. They were also ordered to indemnify P150,000 the families of the deceased and P100,000 pesos to those who were injured. Those convicted appealed the lower court ruling and their appeal is still pending.
A separate criminal case for reckless imprudence was filed against 12 officials of the Quezon City government and two Ozone officers with the Sandiganbayan in November 2001. They were charged for gross negligence in connection with the approval of the building permit and the issuance of the certificates of occupancy for the establishment in 1995. Last week, or more than 18 years after the tragedy occurred, seven of the 12 and the two private individuals were found guilty by the trial court. I am almost certain that those convicted will also appeal the ruling. So we are a good several years before a final verdict is handed down and “justice” finally served. By that time, the victims and/or their families together with the accused and/or their families would be in their twilight years or would have crossed over to the other side.
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Fast forward to the Maguindanao massacre trial. Fifty-eight victims including 34 media personnel were brutally murdered. This was the single deadliest attack against journalists worldwide. Their families recently marked the gruesome event’s fifth anniversary last Nov. 23.
Over 190 suspects were charged with murder. In April 2010 or during the last few months of the previous administration, the Department of Justice dropped the charges against two of the major suspects. This unusual move provoked such a strong howl from the victims’ families and the public that the DoJ was compelled to reconsider its decision.
On Nov. 23, 2011, or two years after the massacre, approximately 100 suspects included in the information were still unaccounted for. The strategy of charging the “whole barangay” instead of focusing on the principal players escapes me? Is this another instance of “deliberate neglect” on the part of the authorities tasked to prepare the information?
Last March 4, 2014 the prosecution rested its case against 28 suspects. They could not rest their case against the others because of pending appeals on various interlocutory matters. In August, several defense lawyers representing many of the accused suddenly withdrew from the case. How this move will impact the pace of the trial remains to be seen but for sure, it will not hasten matters. Only heaven knows how much time the defense will need to present their evidence.
When the trial started, former Senator Joker Arroyo remarked that “with nearly 200 defendants and 300 witnesses, the trial could take 200 years.” This observation is probably an exaggeration but may not be far-fetched. If it took the Sandiganbayan 13 years to render judgment on the 14 accused in the Ozone case, how long do you think will it take the RTC judge handling the Maguindanao massacre to hand down a decision in a case involving close to 200 suspects? And to think that this initial verdict would only constitute round one of this legal bout. Hence, unless extraordinary measures are adopted by our judicial authorities, we need to be realistic in our expectations as to when this nightmare will finally end.
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Unfortunately, this is the current sad state of our justice system. Delay in deciding cases has become the general rule instead of being the infrequent exception. Our prosecutors and judges have focused too much on giving parties their supposed “due” but unfortunately, have failed to control the process. They need to remember that “due process” is a two-way street. Aside from the rights of the accused and that of the victims, they also need to factor in the effect of these delays on the people’s faith and confidence in the administration of impartial justice in our country. The expectation of sweeping reforms in our judicial is not only reasonable but long-overdue system.
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Point to ponder: The following conversation was sent to me by my Oklahoma-based doctor-brother:
“Once a man was asked, ‘what did you gain by regularly praying to God?’
The man replied, ‘nothing… but let me tell you what I lost: Anger, ego, greed, depression, insecurity, and fear of death.’
Sometimes, the answer to our prayers is not gaining but losing; which ultimately is the gain.”
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“Expectations are blossoms; few only mature in fruit.” – Emperor Ye-Wang
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Email: deanbautista@yahoo.com