There are currently 150 judges out of approximately 1,823 facing administrative charges for failing to resolve cases within 90 days, per Supreme Court OCA Circular 243-2022. It says in part: “Delay in the disposition of cases deprives the litigants of their right to speedy disposition of their cases and tarnishes the image of the judiciary.”
In children’s rights advocates’ previous communications with the Supreme Court administrator, it is clear that children’s rights are their top priority, hence the abovementioned circular. To reduce the backlog of unresolved cases, the Court has directed the lower courts to determine if complainants want to continue their cases or not.
If the answer is no or no answer, the case can be dismissed. This could be justice denied to young children who cannot understand this. It is the delaying tactics of the accused and their lawyers, who are constantly asking for postponements–which some judges approve–that created the backlog.
Dismissing a case without hearing the evidence will allow child abusers to go free. All heinous crimes against children should be exempted from the Court circular dismissing cases stuck in the courts. These archived cases should continue until the accused is arrested and tried. These contrived delays always favor the suspect as his pedophile protectors in the Church or society find ways to bribe the victims’ parents to withdraw their cases.
Take, for example, the trial proceedings against Catholic priest Fr. Karole Israel Reward in Cagayan. These proceedings have been going on for almost two years, with hearings spaced only every few months, and will extend until 2026. This case could have been resolved in 90 days. The accused admitted to the alleged rape of and acts of sexual assault against a 15-year-old girl but claimed it was consensual. The teenager said she was being blackmailed by the videos the priest made to keep her quiet.
Another Catholic priest, Fr. Serlito D. Vilar in Cebu, is accused of committing heinous sexual crimes against an 11-year-old boy. The very strong evidence of abuse over two years was presented to the prosecutor, who then filed criminal complaints in a court in Cebu. The priest failed to show up during a court hearing and sent a lawyer instead. He paid P1 million as bail and the court postponed the hearing for several months. There is no chance for justice in 90 days in this court.
These cover-ups undermine real justice, deny the child’s rights, and make the Church and the Philippines look like a pedophile’s paradise.
