Injustice for All

There is no true country without a uniform right. There is no true country where the uniformity of rights is violated by the existence of caste, privilege, and inequality – where the powers and abilities of a large number of individuals are suppressed or dormant – when there is no common principle accepted, recognized, and developed by all.

- Giuseppe Mazzini, The Rights of Man


James tossed away the newspaper angrily, making a loud thunk in the snack room trash bin. “You know how to commit million-peso theft, get caught, but not go to jail?”

“How?” Tess asked, eyebrow raised at her colleague’s outburst. James scowled.

“Get elected as President, then do your thieving.”

“O, James, sino na naman ang kaaway mo?” Gilbert asked as he entered the snack room and dropped coins into the vendo machine, Janson trailing behind him. “Parang gusto mong pumatay ng tao, ah.”

“Ah, alam ko na ‘yan,” Janson interjected, “kanina pang nagmumura si James.”

“E ano nga?”

“Yun, final na, house arrest na lang si Erap doon sa Tanay,” Janson sniggered. “Nasa diyaryo kanina. Para yun lang, James. What’s the big deal, di ba?”

“The guy’s messed up this country, and instead of going to jail he gets a vacation,” James said sharply. "While common thieves sweat it out in Bilibid, Erap gets to stays in his airconditioned rest house. That says a lot about justice in the Philippines.”

“Pare, dating presidente yan,” Janson countered, “di naman siya kung sinong tao lang.”

“Lalo na dapat siyang ikulong sa Munti, pare,” Gilbert countered. “Siya na nga yung dapat unang-unang sumunod sa batas, siya pa ang gumawa ng katarantaduhan.”

“Yep,” James agreed. “Capital crime pa naman din ang plunder.”

Janson snorted. “Kelan pa kaya mangyayari yung sinasabi niyo? E kung pulis nga, nasusuhulan para di ka bigyan ng tiket; yung mga judge nga, bayaran mo lang, absuwelto ka na sa kaso mo; kung pulitiko ka, puwede kang mag-hire ng mga goons para takutin yung mga witness. Pilipinas ‘to, pare; ‘pag may pera ka, o kaya pulitiko ka, exempted ka na.”

James smelled blood. “Putsa, you’re saying that corruption is acceptable?” he demanded. Janson shrugged.

“Di sa acceptable, pare, but we have to accept that corruption is part of life. Ganyan talaga ang buhay dito sa Pilipinas. Kung ayaw mong tanggapin, mag-States ka na lang,” he concluded.

Tess shook her head. “You mean, Janson, it’s okay kung dito law breaker ka, pero kung nasa US ka, mali?”

“Yun yung reality, Tess,” was the smug reply. “Tignan mo, pumunta kayo sa EDSA 2. Napatalsik nyo nga si Erap, pero wala din naman nangyari, di ba? Pending pa rin yung kaso sa Ombudsman, di ba? Ibig sabihin, walang kuwenta yung pagra-rally ninyo noon. Wala din nangyari, di ba?”

James swore under his breath. He replied grudgingly, “Wala nga.”

“O, e di yan, natuto din kayo,” Janson said, looking at James, Tess, and Gilbert in turn. “Sabi ko nga sa inyo, di ba, walang point yung pagpunta doon e.” He sauntered over to the door, pulled it open, then looked back to say, “Alam n’yo, tatawanan ko na lang kayo pag nagpunta uli kayo sa ganyang mga rally.” Janson left the snack room, snickering, obviously pleased with himself.

James, Tess, and Gilbert looked at each other. Gilbert shook his head in defeat. “ ‘Lam mo, pare, hindi yung mga tulad ni Erap yung problema ng ‘Pinas, e.”

“That’s true,” Tess agreed. “Problema talaga ng Pilipinas yung mga taong walang pakialam sa mga nangyayari.”

“To be precise, the people don’t give a damn but don’t have any excuse not to,” James added. “I mean, it’s true that squatters and other people like them are being manipulated by politicians here and there, but that’s because before anything else, they have their day-to-day survival to worry about. Now here comes a member of the educated middle class, more well-off compared to the poor folks, who doesn’t give a shit about the country.”

Gilbert shrugged. “Tulad ng sabi ni Janson, James, ganyan talaga buhay dito sa ‘Pinas.” Tess nodded her head and sighed.

“ ‘Lam n’yo? Minsan, nakakahiyang maging Pilipino.”