Babe's Eye View article

Sulpicio Lines is blaming everyone—including God—except themselves, conveniently glossing over the fact that there were dreadful violations and bad decisions. As Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales said, sailing into the eye of the storm was not an act of God, but an act of stupidity. They're even making people look like fools by filing a case against PAGASA. Obviously, a dilatory tactic to escape culpability.

The sinking of the MV Princess of the Stars is another sorry addition to the deplorable record of maritime disasters involving Sulpicio. Since the 1987 collision between a tanker and the overloaded MV Doña Paz—described as the worst peacetime maritime tragedy in the world where close to 4,000 people perished—two major disasters involving Sulpicio vessels have occurred in the last 20 years.

Perhaps because they always escaped criminal liability, they have become indifferent to the need for accountability. One of their officials even displayed bad taste by saying she didn't want to think of their company's "financial losses" because she might also end up crying.

Most of the victims could only afford to travel via passenger ferry, and it's absolutely disgusting how Sulpicio seems to reduce the grieving relatives' cry for justice as just a matter of paying them off to compensate for their loss. Yet we can't really blame those who accepted payment because, as one grieving mother put it, they don't have the resources to go to court. They feel their only option is to get the money and go on with their lives.

This sense of helplessness and the perception that poverty deprives one of justice makes the tragedy doubly heartbreaking, and it was such perfect timing that the Supreme Court recently conducted a forum on increasing access to justice for the poor. I was invited to be an observer, and I must admit it was a forum with a lot of substance. Chief Justice Reynato Puno in his closing assured the forum participants that it was not just a talkfest and promised results in the next three months.

Legal empowerment makes a huge difference in improving the lives of the poor, but as Chief Justice Puno said, poor people feel the playing field is tilted against them for several reasons: lack of knowledge of their rights, complex procedures, high cost of litigation, ineffective lawyers, anti-poor laws, judges deciding cases without considering social context.

Delays also erode confidence in our justice system. Judges have to grapple with an average backlog of 1,000 cases, way above the ideal of 100-200 cases—which US Ambassador Kristie Kenney cited when she spoke before the Philippine Bar Association recently. Obviously, sheer volume alone could already hamper the ability of a judge to make quality decisions.

The appalling record and the magnitude of disasters warrants the creation of special courts to quickly resolve maritime-related cases, something which the Chief Justice is amenable to. As Kiko Pangilinan said, unscrupulous shipping companies escape liabilities because of the slow dispensation of justice—and it's about time something is done before another terrible disaster happens.

The SC has been quietly implementing initiatives through its "Access to Justice for the Poor Project," among them the "Justice on Wheels" program where a bus equipped like a courtroom goes around bringing court services to the masses, hearing "mediatable" cases like thugs beating a neighbor or minors accused of shoplifting. Enhanced information campaigns, training barangay officials as legal information officers and materials showing stages of civil and criminal actions have been successful in making the poor know more about their rights and how the legal system works.

Chief Justice Puno is also advocating the use of Tagalog to make poor litigants understand what's happening within the courtroom. One good proposal during the forum is for lawyers to render pro bono work, perhaps 100 hours a year, as a prerequisite to retain their good standing in the Bar and grant them tax credits in return for free legal work. Quoting former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the Chief Justice stressed that "The rule of law is not a luxury and...justice is not a side issue. The rule of law delayed is lasting peace denied."

I have the greatest admiration for Chief Justice Puno, an honorable man with impeccable integrity and the courage to go against the tide. Many also admire him not only for his competence but his writing prowess. Even Max Soliven at one time acknowledged lhat Justice Puno was an excellent writer, having been the editor of UP's Philippine Collegian. In fact, the Chief Justice's remarks at the forum's closing were reminiscent of poetry—his metaphors articulating his thoughts clearly.

"Words on parchment...will not automatically open the doors of justice...to the poor." Their rights must be respected and "translated into reality by their enforcement," he said. He called our Constitution a "beautiful ode," saying it "will not blot out poverty from our landscape" if unaccompanied by action.

He aptly quoted Thomas Paine: "When it shall be said in any country in the world, my poor are happy; neither ignorance nor distress is to be found among them; my jails are empty of prisoners, my streets of beggars, the aged are not in want, the taxes are not oppressive...when these things can be said, then and only then may that country boast of its constitution and its government."

Many, including the Chief Justice, acknowledge the fight for the poor is something that can't be won overnight. Yet he believes the social divide can be lessened by increasing poor people's access to justice. I'm certain the day will come when this noble objective spearheaded by Chief Justice Reynato Puno will ultimately turn into reality.