Justice for sale

Not too many people were surprised that a regional trial court judge was arrested this week for graft. Owen Amor, RTC judge of Daet, Camarines Norte, tested positive for ultraviolet powder, tending to prove that he received P400,000 in marked money. The cash came from police Superintendent Danilo Manzano, who complained that Amor had been trying to extort money from him in exchange for dismissing charges of robbery and graft filed against the policeman.

Manzano claimed the payoff was originally scheduled at Amor's home in Daet on Sept. 17 last year. It was allegedly reset to Oct. 3 at the tennis court of Camp Crame, then to Dec. 10 in Daet, and finally to Jan. 24 at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City. Amor wanted P500,000 and a pick-up truck but eventually agreed to P400,000, Manzano claimed. Manzano, who was indicted when he was intelligence chief of the Bicol police, instead sought the help of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force.

Amor has invoked his right to remain silent. He will have his day in court. What sort of court will it be? In recent years the lowest trial courts to the nation's highest tribunal have been tainted with allegations of scandal. "Fix-cals" and "hoodlums in robes" have given rise to the perception that justice is for sale in this country. The tightest case can be dismissed if the price is right. Make someone an offer he can't refuse, and you can get a favorable ruling or a temporary restraining order that can last indefinitely.

If it's not corruption, it's incompetence and the infinitely slow administration of justice. There are also members of the judiciary who have become notorious for bowing to political pressure, for allowing their offices to be used by those in power. In a land that prides itself in being a bastion of democracy, the lack of confidence in the justice system partly accounts for public support for extrajudicial executions of suspected criminals, for shortcuts to law enforcement, and the mailed-fist approach to criminality.

Several administrations have tried, with middling results, to clean up the judiciary. The cleanup will have to start within the judiciary's own ranks, but this may be too much to ask. Until then, the public will just have to wait for complainants to come out and cops to pounce on the hoodlums in robes. One judge accused of corruption has fallen. How many more are out there, eroding public confidence in the justice system?