The Slow Hands Of Justice

[Jollygoodfellow]

Only 18 years to get to a point where an appeal could be lodged and those charged are missing, my god  :1 (103):

 

Nine sentenced in Philippines over deadly 1996 disco fire

 

A Philippine court on Thursday sentenced nine people to jail for a fire that killed 162 people at a disco in 1996, in a decision that highlighted the country's painfully slow justice system.

 

Survivors and anti-crime groups welcomed the ruling, but were anguished that it had taken so long and expressed fears that some of those found guilty had fled the country, with a court official admitting the whereabouts of the nine were unknown.

 

In one of the Philippines' deadliest fires, 162 people were killed and 94 others injured after becoming trapped when the Ozone Disco in a commercial district of northern Manila went up in flames.

In Thursday's ruling, seven city engineers were sentenced to up to 10 years in jail for allowing the nightclub to operate without adequate safety precautions, court administrator Teresa Pabulayan told AFP.

 

The Ozone Disco's owner and treasurer were given the same sentences, according to Pabulayan, but she would not specify the exact number of years given, saying only it was between six and 10.

 

"The engineers gave unwarranted and preferential advantage to the Ozone disco owners. They failed to detect structural and fire safety deficiencies," she said, summarising the Manila anti-graft court's ruling.

 

The nine will not be immediately arrested as they have 15 days to appeal the ruling, Pabulayan said, adding she did not know where they were.

 

"After 18 years, finally justice is served," Stephen Santos, president of a group that represents the survivors, told local television channel ANC.

 

However Santos voiced concern about the time it took for the verdict to be delivered, and said he feared those convicted had left the country.

 

Dante Jimenez, founder of an anti-crime advocacy group that helped the survivors with court cases, said some of the survivors had died before justice was served.

 

"This reflects how rotten the justice system is," Jimenez told AFP.

 

Court cases in the Philippines typically take many years to complete.

 

Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said last month she was hiring more judges and finding ways to hasten legal procedures to clear massive backlogs that burden judges with as many as 4,000 cases at a time.

 

"We want to say that in the Philippines, it's no longer justice delayed and therefore justice denied," she said.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-2842037/Nine-sentenced-Philippines-deadly-1996-disco-fire.html

 

[Methersgate]

The Court does not know where the convicted defendants are, and they have fifteen days to make good their escape before any attempt is made to bring them in.

 

All this eighteen years after the fire.

 

You could not make it up.

[JJReyes]

Philippines patterned their criminal justice system after the United States and the presumption of innocence. Sometimes you wish for some cases that they change to the Chinese system with trial to conviction within 30 days.

[Mike J]

Philippines patterned their criminal justice system after the United States and the presumption of innocence. Sometimes you wish for some cases that they change to the Chinese system with trial to conviction within 30 days.

The two parts that seem to missing are "right to a speedy trial", and "a jury of your peers".  Although, it is hard to say how a jury system would work here, it would probably not be difficult to buy the jury.  :th_unfair:

[Jack Peterson]

it would probably not be difficult to buy the jury.

 

 

May not be necessary, like so many times they will probably be family! :rolleyes:

 

JP :tiphat:  :morning1:

Morning All. 

[frosty (chris)]

The Court does not know where the convicted defendants are, and they have fifteen days to make good their escape before any attempt is made to bring them in.

 

All this eighteen years after the fire.

 

You could not make it up.

I wonder how you would go getting your insurance/compensation payment waiting for the verdict :1 (103): and yes I know this is the PI

[Americano]

This story continues to prove what I have been saying, you could die from old age waiting for the Philippines justice to do something.  After 18 years how many of the victims family members and witnesses have already died?  Even some of the 9 people sentenced could already be dead.  Taking 18 years to decide a case is ridiculous.

[RBM]

This story continues to prove what I have been saying, you could die from old age waiting for the Philippines justice to do something.  After 18 years how many of the victims family members and witnesses have already died?  Even some of the 9 people sentenced could already be dead.  Taking 18 years to decide a case is ridiculous.

Wonder if disco was managed by a foreigner if it would of taken so long.

[Methersgate]

It makes me think: I was living in Manila when this happened; my first son was one year old, crawling and starting to talk.

 

He is now an adult, having lived in China and grown up in Britain.

 

Two of those convicted have continued to work for Quezon City Engineer's Department.

 

The doors of the disco opened inwards "for feng shui"...

 

[Americano]

 

This story continues to prove what I have been saying, you could die from old age waiting for the Philippines justice to do something.  After 18 years how many of the victims family members and witnesses have already died?  Even some of the 9 people sentenced could already be dead.  Taking 18 years to decide a case is ridiculous.

Wonder if disco was managed by a foreigner if it would of taken so long.

 

 

If it was managed by foreigners the case would have been settled in a few months. The foreigners would have been put in jail and then required to pay a big fine and then deported.  Were the Filipino managers ever put in jail?   Were they ever required to pay a big fine?  I know the answers to these question is "no" because they are not foreigners.  For those who do not know yet there's a big double standard in the Philippines.  A Filipino can do almost nothing wrong but everyone knows that all foreigners are evil and are the blame for all of the problems in the Philippines.  The Philippines must have the most f...ked up legal system in the world.

 

If someone doesn't agree with me then tell us your good experience with the legal system here.

Edited November 22, 2014 by Americano