Obstruction of Justice in the Philippines

/SLIDE/ INTRODUCTION/

There are criminal cases that seem to take ages before a resolution can be made. For influential
people who have criminal liability, delaying justice is like a walk in the park because wealth and power
dictate how justice will be served. We have witnessed many cases where family members of a
prominent political figure are not given the punishment they deserve because they know how to get
away with law. However, people who are cradling criminals by delaying or frustrating apprehension
and prosecution of offenders are violating Presidential Decree No. 1829 or Obstruction of Justice. 

44.41

/SLIDE/ PD. 1829 or Obstruction of Justice /

Remember the SUV Mandaluyong hit and run incident?

A little back story

Last June this year, a video went viral on social media, showing a white SUV hitting security guard
Christian Floralde while he was directing traffic near a mall.

He was already down on all fours, but the driver proceeded to run him over.

A show-cause order was issued for the SUV owner to appear at the LTO on Tuesday, but he did not
show up.

On the same day, police filed a frustrated murder and abandonment of one's own victim complaint
against the SUV owner.

A second and final show-cause order was issued on the day after requiring the person to appear
before the LTO on June 10.

Mandaluyong police filed an obstruction of justice case against security guards of the subdivision
where the owner of the SUV involved in a recent hit-and-run case lives.

He also said that the guards did not cooperate with authorities and even denied them entry during the
investigation of those involved in the incident.

Imagine what could be the factors why these security guards fail to cooperate with the Police. Are
they bribed? Or are they afraid of what would happen if they would cooperate?

Sanvicente was persuaded to surrender, admit his guilt, and offer an apology as a result. If you all
can remember, previous suspects were imprisoned without a warrant as a result of surrender,
admission, and apology. However, Sanvicente's voluntary surrender was turned down by the police.
If we look at the actual law, the police were right not to arrest Sanvicente because they did not have a
warrant to do so.

However, the public was not adhering to the law's spirit. The public, on the other hand, was furious,
relying on what the police had long conditioned them to believe about what the law allowed. In so
many previous instances, the police had made arrests without a warrant.

/SLIDE/ the incident

The trouble with the laws these days is that criminals know their rights better than their wrongs.
Despite, this spoiled brat, Sanvicente's surrender, admission, and apology, why was he not arrested?
Because Sanvicente lacked one more thing that the police considered crucial: Money and Power. He
wasn't a weak suspect who couldn't fight the police.
The police may be right in not capturing Sanvicente. However, ironically, they were unable to
demonstrate that their actions were just. They fail to show justice. Instead, the police ended up
proving that the practice of arresting poor and powerless people without a warrant was against the
law.
Mahirap nga talagang maging mahirap. Kung wala kang pera, pangalanan, talo ka.
In this impoverished nation, the police demonstrated that wealth, indeed is necessary for entitlement
to justice.
The very least yet most powerful thing we could do is to vote for the right people to be seated in
power.

Vote wisely, as if your life depends on it.

We’ve had enough of tolerance by allowing dishonesty and deception to contaminate our hope of a
better life. It’s long overdue, but whatever is wrong must be corrected. Deny empowering liars and
thieves who will continue to provide us nothing but promises. After all, we deserve so much better
and we should never settle for less.