A whiff of fresh air

The Supreme Court today is sensitive to the sentiments of the citizenry.

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno encourages the public to complain against corrupt or abusive judges, according to court insiders.

She has her eyes peeled and ears kept to the ground for any news about corruption and excesses in the judiciary, said the insiders who asked for anonymity.

The assurance is like a whiff of fresh air.

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Citizens who are victims of abusive or corrupt judges may want to file their complaints in the Office of the Court Administrator.

This office which investigates judges is directly under the Supreme Court and holds office at the high court’s building on Padre Faura, Manila.

It’s composed of young and idealistic lawyers who are graduates of Ivy League law schools.

The court administrator and deputy court administrator have ranks equivalent to that of a Court of Appeals justice.

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Pasig City Assistant Prosecutor Fatima Manguiat-Ngaosi ignored the psychological damage a 43-year-old man inflicted on an 8-year-old boy when she downgraded the child abuse charge the man was facing.

The offender is Alejo Tagsim, a neighborhood bully who was drinking with his friends when he threw an empty glass at the boy’s face.

Tagsim was irritated by the noise the boy was making while playing with his friends.

The empty glass broke as it hit the boy’s face, leaving a physical—as well as a psychological—scar.

Guess what Ngaosi charged Tagsim with?

Slight physical injuries!

Child abuse is punishable by imprisonment of six to 12 years while those found guilty of slight physical injuries are penalized with a monthlong jail term.

Ngaosi said in her decision that the complainant—the victim’s mother—failed to prove that Tagsim’s act affected her son’s “psychological development.”

The boy’s mother told this columnist that since the incident, he has been constantly wetting the bed and waking up in the middle of the night, crying.

The boy is now undergoing professional counseling.

Ngaosi apparently doesn’t know that child abuse is defined as “psychological and physical abuse, neglect, cruelty, sexual abuse and emotional maltreatment.”

All of these elements, except neglect and sexual abuse, were present when Tagsim inflicted harm on the boy.

Did Ngaosi sleep through her psychology class in college or was there another reason behind her decision?

The same can be said of her boss, Pasig City Prosecutor Jacinto Ng, who approved her recommendation.