The JUDGE from HELL!

The justice system in the Philippines is totally screwed. The council members have talked about this time and again and have come to a consensus that our justice needs an overhaul- or else. Our very own Brian Gorrell has been screaming for justice but to no avail.

Dan Maraino of the Manila Times talks about the issue!

Judge’s Pyrrhic victory

By Dan Mariano

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"This is one occasion I find myself commiserating with the PNR boss. I have not always agreed with Defensor’s political stance and affiliation but I cannot help but feel sorry for him…Despite his close association with the Arroyos, Defensor is still a citizen who is entitled to his right to seek redress for what he apparently considers are grievances as well as to seek justice for the wrong he believes was committed against him."Dan Mariano

Judge Jorge Emmanuel Lorredo must still be celebrating. During a hearing in his sala last week, Michael Defensor, the former presidential chief of staff, formally withdrew the perjury charges he had filed against NBN-ZTE witness Rodolfo Lozada Jr. Lorredo has many reasons to celebrate.

First, he was able to browbeat Defensor into submitting to the court’s wishes that he withdraw his case against the so-called whistleblower.

Second, he poked fun at President Arroyo and her husband, Jose Miguel—and has apparently gotten away with it.

Third, he has delivered a performance worthy of a professional stand-up comic with no less than the entire nation as his audience.

And fourth, he has demonstrated to his fellow judges a “new method” to avoid having to try cases in their courts that may require the appearance of personalities they find offensive.

You’ve got to hand it to Judge Lorredo. He has put one over Defensor and the Arroyos; he has even managed to portray himself as a martyr—if not a champion of the anti-administration crowd.

Judge Lorredo, who presides over a sala at the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court, managed to grab the entire nation’s attention after he issued an order in connection with the perjury charges filed by Defensor against Lozada.

In that order, the judge—deliberately or otherwise—subjected Defensor to ridicule, calling him “Mr. Railroad Man” and mocking his current post as chief of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) by referring to “old, dilapidated, rusty trains” that he said Defensor plays around with.

The judge’s mighty judicial pen did not spare the President and her husband from similarly scornful digs. He warned that he would have Mrs. Arroyo arrested by Manila Mayor Fred Lim, or by opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson Jr., or by jailed Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th—in collaboration with his fellow 2003 Oakwood mutineers.

The judge also went to some length to portray Mr. Arroyo’s current health problems in droll light. Lorredo even insinuated that the First Gentleman’s ailments are a punishment heaped on him by heaven.

The order was seen as a stinging rebuke on Defensor for trying to use Lorredo’s court to obtain justice. No way, the judge seems to have told the erstwhile Malacañang factotum.

But what disturbs observers—yes, even those who share some of the judge’s anti-administration views, such as this corner—is his seemingly less-than-evenhanded treatment of Defensor’s plea.

According to Defensor, he had no choice but to withdraw his complaint against Lozada believing that he could not expect a fair hearing, much less a favorable ruling, from Lorredo.

This is one occasion I find myself commiserating with the PNR boss.

I have not always agreed with Defensor’s political stance and affiliation but I cannot help but feel sorry for him.

Despite his close association with the Arroyos, Defensor is still a citizen who is entitled to his right to seek redress for what he apparently considers are grievances as well as to seek justice for the wrong he believes was committed against him.

Unfortunately for Defensor his plea for justice landed in Lorredo’s sala. In his bid to be given his day in court, the judge seems to have said, this isn’t your day, Mr. Railroad Man.

Defensor will have to accept that this has been a setback for him; Lorredo has got him checkmated, as it were.

After issuing the berating order and announcing his plan to hale even boxing champ Manny Pacquiao to his court, the judge revealed that he was under pressure from the Palace.

Thereafter, any attempt by the administration to even up the score with the judge could only confirm his contention that in this telenovela of a case it is he who is the victim.

Defensor cut his—and the administration’s—political losses by backing off, and the judge basked in the adulation of anti-GMA forces for his clever resistance to what he alleged was Malacañang meddling.

The judge successfully berated Defensor and subjected the President and her husband to national ridicule. Moreover, he has denied them an opportunity to get back at him. Now, that took some doing.

Unfortunately, the judge’s victory over Defensor and his political principals could prove pyrrhic.

Lorredo may have to contend with the public perception that his sense of fair play has become questionable.

True, the disdain he heaped on Defensor, the President and the First Gentleman elicited laughter—if not, guffaws—from not a few quarters. But it could have also given rise to unfavorable views about his own equanimity.

The judge may have succeeded in denying Defensor his day in court. However, the stunt may have also created fear among other potential litigants that they, too, could be denied access to justice if their case ever falls on Lorredo’s sala.

The judge may have achieved his goal of preventing Lozada from facing perjury charges in his court. However, he may have also created the impression that Lozada could not have gotten away with this “vindication” if Lorredo had not cowed Defensor into withdrawing his complaint.

Judge Lorredo may have triumphed over Defensor, but many quarters doubt if his celebration would last very long.