PIA ON THE JALOSJOS COMMUTATION: "DOJ SCORES FAILING MARK
IN VAWC CASES...WHAT BUSINESS DOES IT HAVE TO PARDON HIM?"

Senator Pia S. Cayetano today said the recent commutation of the double-life sentence of convicted child-rapist and former congressman Romeo Jalosjos further compounds the Arroyo government's dismal record in protecting women and children from various forms of violence and abuse.

Citing official statistics from the Department of Justice's Task Force on Women and Children Protection, Cayetano said 25 out of 74 cases (34 percent) of violations of Republic Act 9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act of 2004) that were prosecuted by the department in 2005 and 2006 have already been dismissed in court.

On the other hand, 45 of these cases (61 percent) are still pending resolution while four cases (5 percent) have yet to be filed in court.

What's worse, the lady senator points out, is that the DOJ Task Force has yet to account for a single court conviction for violence against women and children cases (VAWC) since 2005.

"This means that one of every three VAWC cases is dismissed, even as the victims with pending court complaints suffer from the snail-paced administration of justice," stressed Cayetano, a lawyer.

"But what I really find appalling is that the DOJ has nothing to report but a big fat zero in terms of convicting VAWC offenders from 2005 to the present."

Relating the DOJ figures to the Jalosjos case, she asked: "If this government has miserably failed to provide protection to its women and children from abusers, then what business and what moral right does it have to commute a convicted rapist's 80-year jail term and let him walk out of jail after serving a mere fraction of his sentence? And Malacaang even has the nerve to call it an act of compassion? What about compassion for the victims of child abuse?"

Citing the DOJ statistics, she noted that in the 24 VAWC cases handled by DOJ so far in 2007, two have already been dismissed, 22 are under preliminary investigation, while one case is being prepared for filing in court. #

Correction: Senator Cayetano's previous press release on the Jalosjos case (dated June 12, 2007) cited seven convictions out of 186 "VAWC cases" handled by the DOJ from 2003 to March 2006. The figure actually refers to violations of RA 9208 or the "Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act" and not RA 9262. Our apologies for the oversight.