Justice for victims of child sexual abuse is a vital part of their healing. If the victim is to have a normal life, his or her pain has to be healed in the deep recesses of the child’s memory. Victims long for the truth about their abuse to be told. They truly want to be believed that they are telling the truth about their abuse.
Child victims greatly desire that their abusers be made to answer for the hurt they inflicted and perform penance for their evil deeds. This is to prevent them from sexually abusing even more minors, as they surely will if not stopped by the gavel of justice.
Judges are healers of trauma, physicians of emotional and physical wounds. Their medication is the truth. As Jesus of Nazareth has said, “The truth will set us free.” Only when the truth is revealed will justice be done and be seen by all as such. The grave imbalance will be corrected and restored by a judge of integrity who follows the path of evidence to the final revelation of the truth. It is the judge who can set things right. If this is done, heaven will rejoice, the victims heal and just judges be commended and blessed.
The responsibility of the judge is enormous in child abuse cases because the emotional well-being of the victim is at stake. Jesus has identified himself with the innocent child when he said, “Whoever welcomes in my name one such child as this welcomes me.” (Matthew 18:5) When we seek justice for the child, we seek it for Jesus himself. That is how he wants it.
As I have written before, the good judges pursuing justice with integrity have committed themselves to the ideals of their profession and are aware of the great need of the rule of law to hold together the trust and hope of the people in the judiciary. The people, especially the children, must see and know that justice is there, that fairness and honesty will ensure that justice is done. If the judiciary is corrupted, then society would descend into anarchy. Just judges of integrity who uphold the rule of law hold the nation together.
Incorruptible judges never tolerate dirty deals or manipulation by defense lawyers offering bribes to corrupt them. Such lawyers must not be tolerated and should face charges. Offering bribes for an acquittal of their clients, when these should be found guilty of rape or sexual assault, is not only a devastating crime against the child victims but also the justice system. This must be exposed and condemned.
Judges who tolerate and approve frequent proceeding postponements that were manipulated by lawyers of the accused — which obstruct the flow of justice — are cheating, favoring the accused and depriving the child victim of justice. Their tactic is to wear down the child victim with these postponements and exhaust his or her hope and determination of the child — and his or her supportive parent or relative — to entice them to accept a paltry out-of-court financial settlement. That alone is an admission of guilt and must not be tolerated.
There are many judges who are pursuing justice with transparency. There are also some who do not after falling into temptation. As I have previously written, there are 150 judges out of approximately 1,823 who face administrative charges for failing to resolve cases within 90 days, per the Supreme Court’s 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.” There are 362,000 unresolved cases in regional trial courts; in family courts, the number is 64,000.
The judges do not always deserve blame for frequent postponements, lengthy trials and delayed judgments. We must mobilize public support for the good judges and appeal to Supreme Court justices to help these embattled magistrates, like one in the family court in Macabebe, Pampanga, where long postponements and hearings being reset delay the attainment of justice.
In that court, Judge Katherine Legarda-Pajaron is presumed to be fair and hardworking. She needs support. Her family court appears to be overloaded with every kind of case, from adoptions to family disputes. There, it seems that child abuse cases are delayed due to frequent postponements. Court proceedings are delayed for months due to absent prosecutors, tardy defense lawyers, absent witnesses, and perhaps even missing pieces of evidence like documents. The judge has to postpone hearings, perhaps for months, every time. It is all very stressful for the child victim and also for the judge. To end such delays and speed up justice for child victims, the best suggestion is for Supreme Court justices to approve a second family court in Macabebe, as was done in Olongapo City, where justice is now done more quickly.
In other family courts, dedicated prosecutors and good judges rarely postpone hearings and they deliver justice speedily. In these more efficient courts, the children win an average of 20 convictions every year. In 2024 alone, they won 27 convictions. Most of the convicted abusers are in jail, and the children they abused are now free from fear and abuse. They can heal and other children will be safe. A law establishing a children’s court is the answer to the long delays in getting justice for abused children.
END.
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