Once there was a drunk man who almost set a whole mountain on fire. He was clearing his land for farming through kaingin (slash-and-burn) but because of his drunkenness, he wasn’t able to keep watch on the patches that were burning until it licked and chewed through nearby clearings and spread to set a large part of the mountain on fire. The mountain is part of the communal lands of the Tumandok tribe with three barrios around it.
“All we could do was look at the orange flames. It became out of control because it was windy, and it was a time of El Nino,” said Ka Lorie, a cadre of the New People’s Army (NPA). The fire damaged a large part of the separado, a part of the forest that the Tumandok communities have set aside as a forest reserve. The drunk man can face jail time for his carelessness or simply suffer the wrath of angry farmers whose traditional hunting grounds have been burned. But the Tumandok community opted to seek the NPA’s assistance.
Setting up the jury
Without delay, NPA cadres set up a people’s court with a jury composed of representatives from the local branch of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the NPA, and members of the revolutionary mass organizations, each sharing one-third of the seats. Members of the jury were of good standing in the community and acceptable to both the plaintiff and the defendant.
After getting all the information and testimonies of witnesses, the jury members studied the case and set a trial. A judge was assigned and also lawyers for both the plaintiff and the defendant. “Note that being part of the people’s court does not require a law school diploma or a bar exam passer,” said Ka Lorie. The requirement for the jury and lawyers is objectivity and a good grasp and respect for the rights of the community and the accused. “The main purpose of the trial is to help seek out the truth and serve a fair judgement and a just punishment,” Ka Lorie added.
Ka Lorie described the trial as swift. The hearing of the case and the announcement of the sentence happened only in a day. Both sides had prepared their arguments beforehand. At the trial, both sides of the case were presented by the plaintiff and defendant, with the aid of their lawyers. As it was conducted publicly and the local dialect was used, community members who attended the procedure participated. After the hearing, the judges voted on the decision.
Justice for the exploited and oppressed
Now, this is what the bourgeoisie would mock and call a “kangaroo” court. The reactionary state belittles the justice system set up by the masses and the CPP, with the NPA and the revolutionary organs of political power.
The reactionary state tries to degrade the existence of the organs of political power established by the masses under the leadership of the CPP. Consisting of representatives from the oppressed sectors, it is through these organs of political power that steps towards justice are taken. And when one says justice, it means justice for the exploited and the oppressed.
Let’s face it, the justice system in the country only works for and favors those who wield power and resources. In a semifeudal and semicolonial country such as ours, it is the landlords, the big bourgeois capitalist, the bureaucrats and their minions that have the control—from crafting laws to its enforcement. While the reactionary state maintains an illusion of the universality of bourgeois democratic rights and the concept of justice, it was never for the oppressed classes.
So if the drunk man who accidentally caused fire in the kaingin fields which affected three barrios would face the reactionary court, he will most likely be jailed for many years. Being a simple indigenous farmer, he won’t be able to pay for the damages he made. In short, it would be a no-win situation. The communities would be left with only burned lands, and the man would lose years of life and freedom.
The CPP and the NPA recognize and respect the IP community’s belief and traditions and works through it in dealing with the contradictions among them. Community members and their traditional leaders almost always seek out the local Party branch and the NPA not only in resolving petty crimes and domestic concerns but also to settle land disputes, tribal wars, rape or murder. They prefer the revolutionary movement’s justice system because they have a say, being part of the process. But even local officials of the reactionary government would refer such cases to the NPA.
Ka Lorie recalled one instance where a member of the community joined the CAFGU (Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit), became an enemy spy and caused damage among the red fighters. The sentence was to banish the man from the community, for life. But after 10 years, the community members appealed to the NPA to allow the man to return to the community. The NPA, in consideration of its relation with the community and the man’s old age acceded and allowed the man back to the community.
Going back to the example of the drunk man and his community, the people’s court listened to both sides not only to seek the truth but also to see what course of actions to take. Should the guilty party pay the damages with his own produce?
At the end of the proceedings, the jury decided that the drunk man, who freely admitted his wrong doing, will have to plant trees to the lands that were burned. The jury thinks that confiscating all of the man’s produce will be too harsh as his whole family will suffer hunger. The community accepted the decision, and the man would now think twice of ever drinking again, especially when doing kaingin. (Mia Andres)