18-year wait for Ozone fire victims show need for speedier justice – VACC

The 18-year wait for justice for victims of the 1996 Ozone Disco fire underscore the need for a speedier justice system, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption said.

 

“Ito 'yung sinasabi namin na justice delayed is justice denied though of course nakatikim tayo ng hustisya after 18 years,” Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption Chairman Dante Jimenez said on GMA's “Quick Response Team” on Thursday.

 

“Challenge ko sa Supreme Court... Puwede ba bilis-bilisan niyo na po at gumawa na kayo ng sistema na talagang mapapabilis [ang kaso] para mabigyan ng hustisya ang mga biktima?” he added.

 

But Jimenez also acknowledged that the victims and their families got what they were waiting for even if justice was served 18 years after.

 

“At nagkaroon naman ng bunga 'yung pangmomonitor natin ng kaso na yan at 'yung mga biktima mismo na they're suffering permanent disability lalo na 'yung mga namatayan ay at least meron pong ginawa ang ating mga korte na mahatulan talaga sila ng guilty beyond reasonable doubt,” Jimenez said.

 

Still, he said the P50,000 that the court ordered paid to the victims was not enough compensation.

 

“Hindi mo mabibigyan ng katumbas ang pain, ang difficulty, ang death ng pagkamatay ng mga biktimang yan. Hindi mo mabibili yan,” he said.

 

Jimenez said that the best way to prevent these tragedies is to make sure the justice system has teeth that will make business owners and government officials respect the law.

 

“Ang problema hindi sila natuturuan ng leksyon dahil mahina ang ating mga batas, mga penalties at in the end sa bagal ng justice system natin nawawalan sila ng gana imonitor ang kaso,” he said.

 

In March 1996, at least 162 people died in a fire that razed the Ozone Disco in Quezon City. Most of the victims got trapped inside the establishment.

 

The court sentenced two of the owners and seven former Quezon City officials to from six to ten years in prison after being found guilty of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. — Andrei Medina/JDS, GMA News