The Supreme Court. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court has ordered flags to fly at half-staff in courthouses across the country as the judiciary mourns the massacre of elite police forces in Mindanao—a display of mourning previously done when a magistrate passes away.
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and her associate justices issued the order on Wednesday as an expression of solidarity with the families of the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) officers slain in a clash with forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, on Sunday.
“I think every Filipino should be deeply concerned with what happened. It requires us to think deeply about the direction our country is taking. It fills us in the judiciary with much sadness,” she told reporters.
Sereno’s father hails from Siasi, Sulu province, and she said he had always told her about the place being a “paradise.”
First time
“It is sad for any part of our country to experience disorder and chaos, and of course even violence. So this is sad,” Sereno said.
Court spokesperson Theodore Te said it was the first time “in recent memory” for the high court to order a judiciary-wide lowering of flags to half-staff “for a nonjudicial officer.”
“Usually, the Supreme Court lowers the flag to half-staff when a justice passes away,” he said.
The order will be in effect until the officers are buried, Te said.
At the 6th Asean Leaderspeak at the Asian Institute of Management on Wednesday, Sereno began her speech with a call for a moment of silence for the fallen men.
Asked in an interview later about bringing the Mamasapano massacre to justice, Sereno said the judiciary would be prepared when the time comes for the case to be filed in court.
“Justice is not just the domain of the judiciary. We must have effective investigation, and then prosecution. At the same time, those accused must really be brought before the courts before we can even hear their cases. And then of course it is required that they have legal representation,” she said.
“I leave it all to the other agencies of government, our partners in justice, to provide that. On our part, we will be ready when the time comes.”