Senator Raffy Tulfo promised to draught legislation or a proposed bill to address the indiscriminate filing of criminal charges at the Prosecution Stage.
Senator Raffy Tulfo on Friday announced that some officials from Local Government Units (LGUs) manage and dominate some courts. A government official confirmed that information during a Senate hearing before the Committee on Justice.
He stated, among other things, that it should be the sole responsibility of the Supreme Court to manage infrastructure projects in the construction of local courts. He stated that there is a low budget allocation for local court instruction, which eventually leads some Local Chief Executives to use this opportunity to interfere with the construction of Court houses, and they also volunteered to add air conditioning, refrigerators, and furnitures. The LGU also provides monetary benefits to some judges, such as a monthly allowance for court hearings, a gas allowance for transportation, rice socks, and even a car.
©️📷: Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB
According to Senator Raffy Tulfo, such cases involve conflicts of interest that jeopardise the Court's independence. Some officials in the local government have become untouchable. To support this claim, he cited, among other things, the case of one Local Chief Executive, Mayor, who abused a fisherman, and the case of police officers who falsely charged an innocent poor man with an offence. Senator Raffy claimed that those officers were later found to have planted evidence and were dismissed from the service. He also admits to assisting those victims by personally requesting bail for temporary release while the case is being heard.
"It is about time that our Supreme Court's budget must be strengthened," he emphasized. So that the judges are independent and do not owe anything to those corrupt and abusive Local Government officials. He went on to say that this apparent conflict of interest resulted in the incarceration of many of our innocent poor citizens.
He also promised to draught legislation or a proposed bill to address the indiscriminate filing of criminal charges at the Prosecution Stage or Inquest Proceeding by ensuring the right of suspects to be represented by counsel. He revealed that our country does not have enough lawyers to defend our poor citizens who are imprisoned despite their innocence. The presence of independent and competent counsel at that stage will prevent the indiscriminate filing of complaints or information in court.
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