Chief Justice Andres Narvasa blames the problem on a shortage of courts, budgetary constraints and complex procedures. Some laws aimed at streamlining the system have actually had the opposite effect. For instance, the Constitution provides a time limit for deciding all court cases. But these deadlines are loaded against the poor. Lawyers often manage to delay court proceedings and thereby gain acquittals.
Prosecutors too appear to bend the rules.
Guingona received complaints from the Department of Interior against two prosecutors who allegedly distorted evidence that led to the acquittal of an alleged drug dealer and a policeman accused of robbery and extortion. Given the state of the justice system, it is not surprising that crime is rampant. There are 235,000 illegal firearms nationwide, more than those possessed by the national police and the military combined. Life in this country is cheap. President Ramos has pledged a cleanup, but he will have a hard time convincing people like Vizconde and the Vinculados that the system can be trusted.