Gonzalez vows to unclog DOJ dockets

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez declared yesterday he would follow President Arroyo’s marching orders for him to run after law violators regardless of the personalities involved.

Gonzalez said during the Manila Overseas Press Club’s forum at the Ristorante La Dolce Fontana in Greenhills, San Juan that some big cases might have strong political undertones but he would see to it that decisions of the department would be made based on the facts and evidence.

He said he considered his stint at the Department of Justice (DOJ) probably his last "mission" in government service and he would act with forthrightness and decisiveness.

Gonzalez also pledged to reduce the backlog of cases at the department by endorsing "small" ones to the barangay courts, since they shouldn’t have been dumped on the prosecutors’ offices.

"I think the prosecutors are doing well but I am not yet satisfied. I was surprised that even small cases like alarm and scandal or violation of the bouncing checks law involving small amounts are being investigated by state prosecutors. That should be corrected," he said.

Gonzalez said complaints against prosecutors in cities and municipalities such as conflict of interest, bias or lack of probity must be addressed through an appeal or petition for review in various jurisdictions and not necessarily at the DOJ.

To improve prosecution service, Gonzalez vowed to make surprise visits to catch "slackers." He said he would make sure that the prosecutors would come on time and not play golf or teach during office hours.

Gonzalez reiterated his desire not only to improve the DOJ but its attached agencies as well like the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Bureau of Immigration, and the Bureau of Corrections.

The justice chief started talking with officials of these agencies to determine ways to make them more effective.

He said that if the NBI, for instance, bungled a case like the November 2001 murder of actress Nida Blanca, the prosecutors and the courts should do everything and not dismiss it.

Gonzalez said under his watch, he would not hesitate to order a re-investigation and filing of charges if the evidence would warrant it like the shooting incident in Mandaluyong City last June 21 involving scions of wealthy families — Ryan and Ron Michael Jaworski and Elton and Mark Yap.

The case was junked by the prosecutor for sloppy police work, lack of evidence and cooperation on the part of the accused.

"At the New Bilibid Prisons, I know foreigners continue to ply their trade from inside. And there are privileged prisoners like (former Zamboanga del Norte congressman Romeo) Jalosjos who maintain a bungalow inside (the compound)," he said.

Gonzalez disclosed that the task is enormous but the DOJ has one of the smallest budgets among government agencies. He said the department’s annual budget of P1.4 billion is not enough to build new infrastructure for better offices for government prosecutors.

"We pity them because they are not in a good and wholesome environment but we need P12 million for a new building and we don’t have that," he said.

But despite the meager budget, Gonzalez said he would show the President that the department could make a sacrifice for national good.

"I will return the P2 million to P3 million intelligence fund left for the Office of the Secretary. I don’t believe there is a need for it. It is a gesture of the President that we can also contribute and sacrifice," he said.

In the same forum, Gonzalez stressed that the DOJ will demand a quid pro quo from the United States as regards extradition requests to ensure that the Philippines would not be on the losing end.

Gonzalez made the remark in reaction to the US government’s earlier denial to extradite American Roger Lawrence Strunk, the alleged mastermind in the killing of Blanca.

Gonzalez was firm in his stand that if the US would be too strict in evaluating the Manila’s requests, then the Philippine government must do the same.

"We should treat the Americans’ requests in the same manner as they treat ours," he said, adding that there are plenty of US extradition cases pending before the DOJ requesting for Filipinos to be deported to the US and the Philippines could make it difficult for the Americans to get them back for prosecution.

Gonzalez explained that the government deemed it had sufficient evidence to request for the extradition of Strunk but was not appreciated by the US court. He noted that it would not have been submitted if Philippine authorities were not confident that the evidence were complete.

Gonzalez said he was not fully briefed on the Blanca case but was informed that the DOJ and the NBI are still working on it for re-filing.

Gonzalez’s predecessor, chief presidential legal counsel Merceditas Gutierrez, said the government is wrapping up its new extradition request for Strunk and that evidence from new witnesses would strengthen the second case.

"We are confident that we can get him back now because we are guided by the concerns raised by the US judge," Gutierrez said.

She refused though to disclose the new evidence to be presented to the US court so as not to jeopardize the government’s effort to have Strunk extradited.