Armed Violence in a Hall of Justice

The shooting incident inside a court in Cebu City on January22, 2013 that killed three people and injured an assistant prosecutor is not new. Killing happens almost every week. People rarely pay attention to these killings because they are now the rule of the day.  Sadly, it seems that the government is powerless against armed thugs that kill those who could not stand up against atrocities and violence.

Killing in a Hall of Justice is an oxymoron. A Hall of Justice is a physical structure devoted to settling disputes by way of law. It signifies the end of violence and the persistence of the rule of law. A legal dispute, even of the worst kind, is brought to this place so that it can be settled without the use of guns and violence. A Hall of Justice is the personification of order, a testimony to the struggle of people against arbitrary power and violence.

Of course criminals have no respect to this symbol of justice. They are criminals. You could not expect any kind regard to the institution of law from them. To say that they should consider the Hall of Justice as a holy ground is to deny the reality of crimes and violence. They have no obligation to spare their victims just because they found them in this place.

But if criminals could kill without risk even in a Hall of Justice, what else could people expect from the criminal justice system? If the government could not secure this place from armed violence, then, there is no point bringing your trouble to it. Bringing a legal dispute in court could only mean exposing yourself to the easy possibility of being liquidated by your enemy.

If judges and lawyers could be killed with ease by scorned litigants and armed thugs, then, it would be better for us not to go to courts anymore. Revenge would be better because it gives you a chance to get even with your enemies. The spirit that animates the Hall of Justice will then cease to exist as vengeance begins to reap good and bad people alike with such impunity and swiftness. Vigilante and self-proclaimed heroes would give justice that meaning which people have been searching for. Equalizers will room the city. Short cuts will be the order of the day: the faster you kill your evil enemies, the more acceptable it is for the society.

            The government is failing the people. It is self-gratifying itself with the illusion of progress while its citizens chill in fear and anxiety. There is no order in the streets. Even the edifice of justice is marred by armed violence. This is the state of peace and order today.

            It is worrisome that the protectors of our society could not get their acts together. They are even killing one another. The strong arms of the law are cutting each other and we stand dumbfounded and amused by the temerity of the situation. This is a failure of governance. Unless the government can stop the armed violence that plague our country today, its claim to prosperity and good governance will remain a joke.

            Beware! They are killing judges and lawyers already. Soon, law schools have to close. They should start training cowboys and gladiators because hiring lawyers to defend a cause is no longer in. We are back in ancient history. It’s clobbering time again!