v11n0203

“
A parallel system
has developed,
and in practice
everyone knows of
its existence, yet it
is hardly ever talked
about.
18
”
not only to determine the guilt or innocence of persons in trying
cases to afford remedies. They are also obliged to protect any
individuals whose rights are violated or at risk, through the firm
and fair application of the law. It is clear that it is not only uneven
application of the law that denies and deprives a large section
of the Filipino society, particularly the poor and the oppressed,
any sort of remedies. On top of this is the manner in how the
complaint mechanism operates to defeat the very purpose of
obtaining remedies. Some sort of protection from the law exists;
however, the application of the law and rights varies from one
section of the society to another.
underneath all this is the problem of understanding the notion
of the rule of law. The courts do not understand the rule of law in
terms of substantive rights but rather as the limited and narrow
enforcement of the law. The rule of law is seen as procedural and
technical, not tied to the idea of justice and law as substantive
rights, as it ought to be.
These types of social conditions have over many years aggravated
and enhanced extremely sophisticated forms of oppression, forms
of oppression that breed silence and submission, which make
them norms. In such an environment, not to complain is also a
norm. To challenge the status quo and to dissent, even with clear
aspirations only to seek remedies and obtain redress, is somehow
a threat to social order. From how the police, prosecution and
courts in the Philippines operate, we are forced to conclude that
much more of how the system works is based upon the application
of unwritten law, rather than what is on paper. A parallel system
has developed, and in practice everyone knows of its existence,
yet it is hardly ever talked about.
article 2 � June-Sept 2012 Vol. 11, No. 2-3