How justice is denied to children and rights defenders

By Fr. Shay Cullen

As a wonderful country of more than 7,600 islands, one blessed with breathtaking scenery and beautiful, kind and friendly people, the Philippines is considered a tropical paradise. Most of its people are well-educated and (supposedly) leading Christian lives, and thousands are dedicated to making the country more just. They believe that faith means giving justice to the poor and downtrodden and opposing wrongdoing and injustice. They are the true heroes; many of them died turning their faith into action by serving the poor, the abused and the exploited. There are hundreds of sexually abused and exploited children crying out for healing and justice. There are many dedicated prosecutors and judges working to deliver justice for these children and discourage further abuse. They help enhance the reputation of the Department of Justice and the country’s judiciary in general.

It is well-documented that when courageous children report abuse to them in Zambales, prosecutors such as Bernardine Santos, Joe Mari Nacin, Emmanuel Mas Jr., Gladys Bautista, and Marey Beth Marzan act quickly and fight to secure justice for these kids. The judges in the family courts in Zambales and Olongapo — Maribel Mariano-Beltran, Melani Fay Tadili and Edwin Torres — are also very prompt and dedicated in ensuring justice will prevail. They give hope to abused children waiting for justice. An annual average of 20 children helped by the Preda Foundation attain justice in these efficient courts despite their heavy workload.

Unfortunately, this is not the case in other family courts, such as that in Macabebe, Pampanga. There, the judge constantly allows hearings to be postponed for months, all for the benefit of the accused. Prolonged postponements are frequently requested by defense lawyers, and when the judge approves it, the affected children become frustrated, suffer witness fatigue and lose hope. If a child does testify after a year of such postponements, it is possible she would no longer recall details of her testimony, and the judge may acquit the abuser as a result. Also, the subpoena for the child to testify is frequently lost, having been sent by “snail” mail and never by email, like what other courts do. The case is then dismissed due to the absence of the child victim, who did not get the subpoena. The public prosecutor assigned to the Macabebe court does not even exert the effort to contact the child victim or her social worker. The brave child victim loses, while her abuser walks free, laughing with impunity, and might throw a victory party with gifts all around. He is free to abuse again. As the saying goes, justice delayed is justice denied.

I already appealed the situation in the Macabebe court to Supreme Court Administrator Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez. I hope the Macabebe judge would inhibit herself from all the child abuse cases of the Preda Foundation. Clearly, justice is not being served for them. Unless action is taken, this sad truth can put the much-respected judicial system in a bad light and cause the loss of trust and confidence in the judiciary as a whole.

The greatest injustice is suffered by child victims of sexual abuse committed by parents, relatives, teachers, clergymen and corrupt prosecutors and judges. Hundreds of perpetrators of this heinous crime are allowed to go free by corrupt judges without answering for their crimes and they will abuse more children.

Sexual violence

In its widely respected National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children (NBS-VAC) report, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) reported that one in five Filipino children have experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetime. As of 2026, approximately 7 million children are being sexually and physically abused every year, a huge increase from the 2021 figure. Children have free access to materials showing child sexual abuse and exploitation on social media through their mobile phones with internet access because telecommunications companies (telcos) and their internet service providers (ISPs) operate without blocking software. This frequently results in online sexual abuse or leads to children being sexually assaulted, even raped. These telcos — PLDT, Globe Telecom and Dito Telecommunity — are mandated by Republic Act (RA) 11930, or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials Act, to install software that would block such materials. It seems the National Telecommunications Commission, led by Commissioner Ella Blanca Lopez and Jon Paulo V. Salvahan, is clueless about the damage inflicted by these firms and their ISPs on innocent children.

The telcos should be fined a million pesos a week until they install the said software demanded by RA 11930. There are several kinds of state-of-the-art blocking software available. Without them, children would continue to suffer online abuse.

Unicef research bears this out. It indicates that 80 percent of Filipino children are vulnerable to online sexual abuse, largely due to high internet connectivity and English literacy. It says boys are more vulnerable to sexual violence than girls. However, they are more reluctant than girls to report any such violence.

Rights advocates

Meanwhile, hundreds of human rights and environmental advocates have been murdered and justice has not been attained for them. We recall the commitment of environmental advocate and lawyer Mia Mascariñas-Green, who was murdered in her car, in front of her children, in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, on Feb. 15, 2017. The suspected mastermind was a landgrabber that she had opposed in court. He and a shooter were identified but have evaded justice. In the Philippines, a culture of impunity protects wealthy, well-connected child abusers and murderers.

On Jan. 22, 2026, community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and community worker Marielle Domequil were convicted by Judge Georgina Uy-Pere and sentenced up to 18 years in prison for terror financing and fined P500,000 each. Rights advocates called the decision “absurd” and part of an effort to silence her reporting of human rights abuses.

Human Rights Watch has said drug-related killings in the Philippines continue with impunity, citing anomalies in the judicial system. Rights workers are victims of “red-tagging” — the labeling of individuals as communists or terrorists — that can be followed by harassment and summary executions. To its credit, the Supreme Court has declared that red-tagging constitutes a threat to a person’s right to life, liberty and security.

The Philippines claims to be a nation under the rule of law. But that seems only to serve the rich and powerful, while powerless little children are sexually assaulted or raped, and their abusers or rapists are sometimes acquitted and allowed to go free. Others are at large with unserved arrest warrants and are still most likely abusing children and laughing at the authorities.

This unjust system has to be challenged and changed by all who love the truth and justice, and are willing to speak out and demand judicial reform. Supreme Court justices are hopefully deciding to establish to their lasting legacy a children’s court where justice will be served by continuous hearings to child victims in three weeks, not three years.