Freedom and Death Inside the Jail.pdf - The Action Program for ...

Slow Judicial Work
Firewood: The Root Causes of Problems
In the Quezon City Hall of Justice, an RTC judge is swamped with an average of 1,000 cases per sala. Some of them hold
court in two salas. It should be of little surprise therefore that it takes months before an inmate gets scheduled for a
hearing.
The Speedy Trial Act provides that all cases be resolved in no
more than eleven months. Rightly so: for those who are proven
innocent, they will not have to suffer unnecessarily; and for those
who are proven guilty, they may start serving their sentence early
on. In Quezon City Jail, however, 50% of inmates are detained
3.2 years on the average.
Moreover, as of October 2003, there are four inmates who have
been in jail since 1994. In other words, they have already suffered
in jail for more than nine years even before they could be
pronounced guilty. When justice is delayed, it is not necessarily
denied.
There are several reasons for the delay of the issuance of verdicts.
One is the lack of judges and lawyers to handle the cases.
In the Quezon City Hall of Justice, a Regional Trial Court (RTC)
judge handles an average of 250-300 cases per sala. Some judges
hold court in two salas. Lawyers from the Public Attorneys Office,
meanwhile, handle an average of 150 cases each. These do not
include the civil and labor cases they are also assigned with.
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