30 years to resolve a case
The crime was committed in 1977. Thirty years later, the Supreme Court has issued a final ruling upholding the guilty verdict on two civil engineers of what was then the Ministry of Public Works. Simeon Fernan Jr. and Expedito Torrevillas were found guilty of falsifying documents for the disbursement of P86 million meant for roadwork in Cebu. It took 20 years before the two were convicted by the Sandiganbayan, and another 10 years before the Supreme Court upheld the ruling.The nation should probably count its blessings; at least there were convictions in this case. Ferdinand Marcos died before anything could be pinned on him with certainty. If he were alive today, he would likely be as fully rehabilitated as his heirs, never spending even a minute behind bars, and possibly considering another run for the presidency.
The slow pace of justice in the Cebu civil engineers’ case is just the latest example of the difficulty of stamping out corruption. Seeing the corrupt go unpunished is the best incentive for others to commit similar crimes. Thirty years is a long time; evidence and witnesses can disappear, plaintiffs can die without seeing justice done, and dirty money can be laundered to buy respect for a corrupt official’s family.
Swift justice cannot be guaranteed even for someone like deposed President Joseph Estrada, who has been languishing under “rest house arrest” for most of the six years that he has been held without bail for plunder. If ever Estrada is acquitted, those six years would be seen as a grave injustice.
It has been said often enough that justice delayed is justice denied. This is true both for the guilty and the innocent, and both for the plaintiff and defendant. The slow pace has encouraged many Filipinos to simply turn to murder to settle scores or else join rebel movements that can guarantee swift justice. The slow pace also hinders efforts to stamp out corruption. If it takes 30 years to determine the guilt of the corrupt with finality, potential complainants and witnesses are likely to think it’s not worth the effort.
