Written by Daisy Brett-Holt | 04 January 2011

(The letter below is from Elsa Bayani, a Jury System Sceptic.  It is followed by a rebuttal from me.)

Jury system will not solve economic, political and social problems. It is not the means to an end - a progressive Philippines.

Think about it - it will not deter crime. The U.S. jails and prisons are full beyond capacity. The jury system works perfect but people are not deterred by the US jury system to commit crimes that end them up in jails!

Crime is social, political, economic and personal. There are tremendous problems that Filipinos have to contend with - all these cannot be stopped - no jury system can help stop crime.

For everything else to work around the jury system, the government has come up with a system that is not about to happen in a few years - people info, etc. Government agencies and offices are not connected to work efficiently ONLINE with each other.

If millions of voters can be bought in this country, how much would it cost to buy 10 jurors in a major criminal case? What could stop a criminal facing jury trial to buy judgment that means his life or death? They do it to buy the judges, the law enforcement, the witnesses, the courts, the prison system, why not the jurors?

The last word is not mine on the jury system. It is all yours for the taking. Good luck!

Happy New Year!

// Elsa Bayani

Dear Tim and Elsa,

In answer to your suggestion that Jury System will not solve the economic, political and social problems of our country, consider these:

• Nothing is perfect. Even God, who is perfect, did not create perfect things.   Humankind is the best proof of that!  Jury systems, in whatever country, created by mere mortal men are bound to have mistakes.  It will not deter unscrupulous people from committing crimes, but it will make majority of people think twice or more before committing one.  The Filipinos are no exception.  Why?  Because Jury System:

1. Gives people the responsibility to execute the laws of the land;
2. Instils the habit of judicial mind into every citizen, and those habits prepare people to be free;
3. Encourages respect for the courts’ decisions and the idea of human rights to all;
4. Teaches people equity in practice, i.e., anybody can sue or be sued; and
5. Teaches each individual not to selfishly avoid responsibility for his own acts, without which, no political virtue is possible.

•  It is high time the government build more prisons for all the criminals. Our country has one of the worse facilities for criminals in the world.  It is a disgraceful reputation for the only Roman Catholic country in Asia.
• Our justice system does not have to be re-invented. We have a wealth of knowledge from America, Britain, Australia and other progressive, democratic countries.  We can pick and choose the best proven practices from these countries. 
• Naturally, we have to educate our people about the jury system because it is something new. Mind you, education never stops. My mother who is 88 years old sends text messages instead of phoning.  She learned this new skill in just a few minutes!  Being a juror does not need technical or legal skill.  It only needs common sense. 

Our country is one of the top providers of skilled and unskilled labour in the world!   How can you doubt the learning capacity of Filipinos when they provide teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers, seamen and many more professionals to first world countries and countries more developed than the Philippines?  Tim, you and I are just some of them. 

• Jurors are chosen at random to guarantee impartiality. The Philippine government has definitely a reliable structure when it comes to a listing of voters.  How else could we have had a computerized voting system last 2010 general election?  Many Filipinos are IT literate specially the young ones.  Last September 2010 when I was in Manila to campaign for the jury system in Cagayan Valley, my nieces who are high school students taught me how to do power point presentation!  They belong to the generation of Filipinos who will benefit from a jury system.  They will be glad that our generation planted the seeds for a jury system in our country.  Let us not deny them a better Philippines. 
• Buying votes has been a practice for decades upon decades. Just imagine the billions of pesos/dollars stolen by our politicians from the country’s coffers to bribe the voters!   Are you in your conscience prepared for this practice to carry on?  It is high time to stop this! And we cannot stop it unless we reform our rotten and flawed judicial system.   

Our corrupt leaders, the rich and powerful people and gangsters can bribe and/or coerce the judges, witnesses, police and court officials as they do now.  Why can’t they bribe/coerce the jurors 100% of the time?   Because safeguards that will be installed within the system.

Was Bernie Madoff (American felon, former stock broker, investment advisor, non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock market.) , with all his wealth and connections, able to bribe and coerce the jurors during his trial?  NO.

You can read the article here. 

Tim and Elsa, the fact that you are getting involved in these discussions shows that you, just like us, are also looking for a solution or solutions to our country’s problems but are not at the moment convinced that the jury system would do it.  THINK HARD! 

I have answered your queries point by point.  If my arguments cannot clarify things for you, I doubt if any would.

DOJ Sec. De Lima said in an interview about corruption in the Philippines,

"... So what Filipinos need is not another political revolt.  It should instead be a revolution that changes the Filipino psyche as well as the ‘configuration of political power’.  This time it’s no longer enough to just name and shame corrupt officials.  It is about empowering all to act and to demand good governance.   To do otherwise will make them ‘tools to the perpetuation of corruption"

These utterances came right from the horse’s mouth!

 Although, she avoided saying “we need a jury system” on analysis , what she really meant was_ JURY SYSTEM will:

• Change the Filipino psyche. It will change our corrupt attitude and ways that will in turn develop our self-respect. 
• Change the configuration of political power by shifting the real power of government from the privileged few to the people.  Winston Churchill once said “Only as long as juries of ordinary citizens have the final say, the government remains the servant, not the master, of the people” 
• Empower all to act and demand good governance. Section 1, Article ll of our Constitution states that: “Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.”  It means we should put to practise what our constitution mandates us to do.  We are the masters of the politicians, not their servants!

Many of our present political leaders, though well-meaning, have become involved with under-the-table deals, hence will not want a jury system.  Our struggle is uphill and we need people like you who are enlightened about the jury system.

There are only two choices _ a single judge system or a jury system.  We have had the former for decades and we know that it did not make our lives better.  Is there another choice?

I hope you will make the right decision for the sake of our country and our people.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!  It’s the only one we’ve got.

Daisy

Chairman, Philippine Jury International