Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva questioned the ‘zero acquittal’ in cases involving overseas Filipinos as reported by the Department of Foreign Affairs from January to June 2022.
Villanueva cited that there were 5,141 cases involving Filipinos, 1,278 were concluded with finality while 3,863 were marked ‘’pending.’’
DFA Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega defended the numbers and explained that the acquittal may mean that they did not meet the maximum penalty or it was already settled outside courts.
‘’Thus, in line with the state’s policy to afford full protection to labor, both local and overseas, we are seeking, with the help of the committee and all persons present today, to expand the coverage of the Legal Assistance Fund to include all stages of case proceedings, from the time of commencement of the complaint, until promulgation and execution of judgment, and all appeal levels,’’ Villanueva said in a senate hearing.
Senator Raffy Tulfo echoed the sentiment of Villanueva that the handful of acquittals or sometimes zero in a year was unacceptable.
“Ang position ng DFA is ang bottomline they get legal representation kesa wala,” De Vega responded.
“Don’t say that na ‘kesa wala’ kailangan po magkaroon ng legal assistance ang mga Pilipino kasi kasama iyan sa mandato ninyo na dapat may Filipino in distressed kailangan gastusan, dapat kumuha ng abogado na magaling na alam ang kaso, kaya ipanalo ang kaso,” Tulfo said.
Villanueva then asked the DFA for a post service assessment report by the DFA on all lawyers who handled cases of overseas Filipinos.
