When I read about the news that a Japanese tourist hit a Filipino woman in the back at the cargo carousel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), I was furious.

I said the Japanese should immediately be deported and never allowed to return.

But now, I’m taking up the cudgels for the Japanese, Isao Tanaka, a frequent visitor to this country, who has been in the immigration jail for two months.

Tanaka is charged in court with serious physical injuries. If he is found guilty, he will serve time in jail before he is deported.

The Japanese wants to post bail while his trial is going on, but the Bureau of Immigration seems to hem and haw because the complainant, Maria Esperanza Garcia, is well placed.

Garcia is the daughter of Cebu Gov. Gwen, a staunch ally of President Gloria, and niece of Winston Garcia, president and general manager of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

Tanaka, through his lawyer, Vanessa Mendoza, has asked that he be allowed to post bail.

He has become very sickly and is asking to be taken to a hospital, but his request has not been granted.

Tanaka has a sore in his leg that doesn’t heal because he’s a diabetic. If he’s not treated, his leg might have to be amputated.

By all means, have Tanaka face the consequences of his alleged abusive act – if indeed he did what he is accused of doing.

A physical injuries case is not drug trafficking, murder, or kidnapping; it is a bailable offense.

For crying out loud, let’s give Tanaka a fair shake and allow him to post bail for his temporary liberty.

(Latebreaker: Tanaka was released on bail late Friday upon representation by “Isumbong Mo Kay Tulfo” with the Bureau of Immigration – RT)

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We Filipinos shout to high heavens when our compatriots are jailed and not given a fair trial in other countries.

But are we fair to foreigners accused of wrongdoing here?

Visit the immigration jail and see how foreigners facing deportation are being treated. Listen to the charges against them, like sleeping with another man’s wife, a charge most macho Pinoys are guilty of.

We Filipinos should take to heart the Golden Rule: Do to your neighbors what you want your neighbors to do to you.

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In this country, justice tilts heavily in favor of the rich and the influential in a case of rich vs poor.

Vanessa Enriquez, 23, and Jessel Flores, 21, both domestic helpers, are in jail awaiting trial for qualified theft filed by their former employer, Maria Elena Mendoza, of Cainta, Rizal.

Mendoza has accused the two maids of stealing P5,000 and jewelry from her.

But not a single piece of evidence, whether money or jewelry, was found in their persons when they were searched by PO2 Jeffrey Asueta.

Despite that, the cop filed the qualified theft case at the office of Prosecutor Jerome Diloy, who in turn, filed it in court.

Enriquez’s parents, who are very poor, went to Cainta from Calapan, Mindoro, and gave Mendoza P10,000 so she would drop the case.

But the two girls continue to remain in jail.

Enriquez’s father died of a heart attack due to the apparently blatant oppression of his daughter.

Now, are you still wondering why the New People’s Army is winning supporters and sympathizers every day?