Jury system, not "transition gov't", is what RP needs---lawyer

Jury system, not “transition gov’t”, is what RP needs-lawyer


US-BASED PINOY LAWYER DISPUTES ABAT CLAIM ON TRANSITION GOV’T: A US-based Filipino lawyer pushing for the establishment of the jury system in the Philippines is disputing the claims by former Defense Secretary Fortunato Abat that the country needs a “transition government” to leap into a better future for long-suffering Filipinos.

Marlowe Camello submitted his reactions to our column here Friday, December 11, 2009, which featured Abat’s interview over BATAS INTERNET RADIO conducted on the same day about the scrapping of the May 2010 elections to give way to the establishment of a “transition government”.

Marlowe’s submissions: “With due respect, I think the proposition of Gen. Abat will still ultimately fail. The reasons are: 1. It will create a constitutional crisis because it is simply unconstitutional.

“2. It is still vulnerable to the old adage with says: `Absolute power (of the few) corrupts absolutely’. It is no different from aristocracy, the government of the so-called elites of society. It will even lead to virtual death to Philippine democracy and eventual dictatorship.

“3. When something goes wrong like corruption and stealing of public funds, however slight or serious, cover-up in justice will ultimately remain `as a rule of law’ among the care-taker / transition officials, to keep the so-called integrity of the public officials who run the transition government.

“4. The check and balance of the present 3 government branches will be overtaken by the care-taker / transition government. In most probability, those who will be appointed or chosen to man the caretaker government will be mostly selected from their own `ka frats’ in the military and of course from the colleges and universities.

“All these `ka frats’ will again be helping each other first just like the `good ol' days’ as if `happy days are all here again’ before protecting the interest of the common private people they serve.

“What we need is to establish a system of check and balance of powers between two kinds of people of this country - the people in the government and the people in the private sector.

“This can be achieved by adopting the Jury Systems. Let the rivalry between these two alive and dynamic to check each others’ actuation towards and against each other so that none of them can fool the other.

“With the Jury Systems, the government will still be managed by the public officials that the people vote in office via the electoral system while the people in the private sector will be enabled to judge in justice by which the people decide to send to jail any and all government grafters or crime offenders through the people's vote in the juries.

“In effect, the people in the private sector will serve as sentinels in every nook and corner all around the country over every public official that serve them in their respective community ready to secretly investigate and indict or accuse in court through the Grand Jury and get tried in court by the other Jury, called the Trial Jury, of every corrupt official or crime offender.

“The people who serve in juries will be supervised by judges on how to perform their jury duty and so there is no danger that the private people will fool around with laws because they are simply supervised by lawful judges who are, as such, the most qualified authority to instruct the people about their laws that will be applied against the unlawful acts of public officials on a case by case basis.

“With the jury system in place, the people, the prosecutors, and the judges, will be united as one in running the affairs of justice to go after every offender of the law regardless of the power and wealth of the suspected offender including a corrupt president.

“With juries, no person can any more rise above the law. The President and his or her cohorts can no longer monopolize and use justice to commit crimes and fool the people. We often hear self-serving words of allies of the president saying that the president cannot be criminally prosecuted....”

More on this next issue.

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MARITAL INFIDELITY, ONCE AGAIN, HUGS THE HEADLINES: With the Tiger Woods sex-scandal hugging the headlines worldwide at present, the Internet is abuzz with items about marital infidelity. The following, sent by Melcor Virata from the UP Sigma Rho Fraternity egroup, is one of them, thus:

“A committed relationship does not just happen. It is a commitment, and it takes attention and effort to keep it alive and happy. With incidences of infidelity so common, sometimes it seems almost impossible to have a happy, committed relationship that is not in danger of infidelity.

“Infidelity is a Choice: Infidelity is not something that just happens overnight. Its opportunities evolve over time. So by not putting yourself in any of the danger situations, you can rest assured that you will not fall prey to this bad behavior. Staying faithful to each other happens by choice not accidentally, and you can ensure your commitment to your partner by following these tips to prevent infidelity.

“Dirty Laundry – Do not air your dirty laundry in public. Your relationship and any issues that you have with your partner are private. If you do need help with a problem make sure that you are talking to someone who supports your relationship, and if you are in doubt find a professional counselor.

“Time – Make spending time with your spouse a priority. Very commonly when rigors of day to day life pull spouses in different directions, they are not spending sufficient time together. That is when the opportunity for infidelity develops.

“Workplace – Be aware that your workplace is ripe with possibilities for infidelity to get its hooks into you. You spend a lot of time at work, so make sure that you do not spend too much time with one person. If you find it necessary to travel with a colleague from work always meet in public spaces...”

Also, more of this will be highlighted next issue.

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