The Philippine Justice System Inequality
By: Leslie G. Bajo
I watched the news about the SUV driver who ran over the poor security guard,
holding a press conference at the Philippine National Police headquarters instead of
being in prison made me realize the Philippine justice system really sucks. The current
system of criminal justice in our country is shaped by economic bias; crimes that are
specific to the rich are either overlooked or treated lightly, while the so-called common
crimes of the poor lead to arrest, charges, conviction, and imprisonment. This economic
bias has led to a situation in which the poor are more likely to be arrested, charged,
convicted, and imprisoned. Because of this economic discrimination, the criminal justice
system is now in the position that it is in. The criminal justice system is not effective at
protecting individuals from the most significant threats because it does not identify as
crimes the risky behaviors of those who are well off and does not punish them in
accordance with those definitions. Because of these and other inadequacies, the criminal
justice system is successful in its mission to cultivate a criminal culture. Because society
refuses to ameliorate the poverty that spawns’ crimes, it fails to protect the people from
the crimes that they dread.
By putting the focus on individual criminals who are considered poor, the system
is able to deflect attention away from the injustices that are generated by social and
economic structures. The failure to reduce the rate of crime adds to the continuance of
this situation by directing anxiety and resentment against people who have less privileged
lives. The issue of unequal justice is rooted in the unequal distribution of wealth and
income across society. A criminal justice system cannot find individuals guilty of the
injustice of breaking the law if the legislation itself supports and sustains an unjust social
order. This is because a criminal justice system cannot find people guilty of the injustice
of breaking the law. Because of this, a person cannot be held responsible by the criminal
justice system for the wrongdoing caused by breaking the law. Steps need to be taken
toward domestic disarmament, the criminalization of well-off crimes, the creation of a
correctional system that promotes human dignity and gives former offenders a real
opportunity to go straight, a more reasonable exercise of power by police officers,
prosecutors, and judges, and equal access to high-quality legal expertise for all
individuals who are accused of committing a crime. These are the must measures that
need to be taken in order to make up for this setback.
Everyone should be able to get justice. No matter how much money you have or
how little, you should get the same fair treatment from the law. This is because we are all
born free and equal. Every one of us has to treat and be treated on an equal level. We
should all get what is fair and right. Nobody should judge us based on what we have and
who we are.