Access to Justice
As detention facilities take in more detainees, less attention is given to
address the needs of PDLs. This is especially true for poorer and less
educated inmates who are unaware of their rights and cannot afford to pay
for legal services. Majority of detainees were imprisoned at the height of
the government’s Operation Tokhang where the legality of arrests
was questioned.
A middle-aged inmate shared her experience of arrest: “Hindi ko pa rin
matanggap dahil hindi ko ineexpect na mangyayari sa akin ito sa edad ko
na fifty-four. Paano ko matatanggap na nandito ako ngayon, hindi man
lang ako inimbestigahan. Kinuha nila ako sa bahay namin, dinala ako
sa munisipyo, pinagawa nila lahat sa akin. Wala silang nakuha sa akin,
tapos pagdating ko may apat o limang sachet ng shabu at five hundred
na marked money. Wala akong bulsa, kinuha lang ako sa bahay ko. Ang
mga pulis hindi muna ako inimbestigahan … paano ko matatanggap na
ganoon ako kung hindi ko ginawa ’yun (I still can’t accept this because I did
not expect that this would happen to me at my age of fifty-four. How can
I accept that I’m here now when I did not even undergo an investigation?
They just took me from my home, took me to the municipality, and had
me do everything. They never found anything in my possession but when
I got there, they had four or five sachets of methamphetamine and a
marked five hundred peso bill. I didn’t even have pockets, they just took me
from my home. The cops didn’t investigate first … how can I accept their
accusations when I didn’t commit it)?”
Once detained, women have difficulty seeking chances for freedom.
Majority of inmates have not been on trial and have been waiting for a
few months to years. According to FGD participants, their trial dates are
frequently postponed due to the absence of their lawyers or judges who
handle their cases. Some also receive the cancellation of their GCTAs as
punishment by jail staff. In some facilities, detention staff lose records
of inmates, further complicating the advancement of their cases in a
bureaucratic and disorganized justice system. As a result, the length
of imprisonment for many reach decades even if their violations merit
much shorter sentences. Lacking financial means and ties with people in
positions of power, detained women are likely to be detained for longer.
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