A Marineâ•Žs Murder Trial and the Drug War: the •Œdelicate Balanceâ•Š of Criminal Justice in the Philippines
A MARINE’S MURDER TRIAL AND THE DRUG WAR: THE “DELICATE BALANCE” OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN THE PHILIPPINES Peter G. Strasser* ABSTRACT: This article draws on the murder trial of U.S. Marine Joseph Pemberton, who killed a Filipino transgender, to examine aspects of the Philippine criminal justice system. Deep- rooted institutional deficiencies for police, prosecutors, and trial courts, a backlog of thousands of cases, and overpopulated pretrial detention facilities have created a crisis that currently exists within the criminal justice system. The country’s “war on drugs” has served to reinforce the perception that justice in the Philippines is only for the influential and wealthy. Filipinos have wryly noted that for the poor, there is really no justice, just-“tiis,”—which, in the vernacular means “just endure suffering.” Challenging the entrenched, cultural resistance that has frustrated previous reform efforts, the newly appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has vowed to institutionalize changes designed to expedite the administration of justice. On a practical level, the question in most criminal cases is not whether the accused committed the crime, but rather what is the fairest, most expeditious method to handle the particular offense and offender. As detailed herein, the end goal of justice in the Philippines is restoration of social harmony. Along those lines, this article argues that creative use of legally recognized procedures such as plea bargains and barangay (community) mechanisms, utilizing reconciliation and financial settlements, can help overcome significant barriers in terms of reaching an otherwise seemingly elusive justice. * A former partner with the New Orleans office of Chaffe McCall, LLP, the author earned his J.D.
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