| SC: Use of Filipino language in courts ‘positive’ http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20080701-145696/SC-Use-of-Filipino-language-in-courts-positive MANILA, Philippines—Should the Supreme Court’s latest project succeed, the poor may no longer have to struggle with the English language to express themselves in court. Initial efforts to use the Filipino language in court proceedings have yielded encouraging results, Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno said Monday. “We are trying to pilot the use of the Tagalog language [from which Filipino is based] in Bulacan and the result is very positive,” Puno told reporters at the high tribunal’s “Forum on increasing access to justice: Bridging gaps and removing roadblocks” at the Court of Appeals. Puno said the use of the Philippine language enabled the litigants, especially members of marginalized sectors, to better understand what was transpiring in the courtroom. “They understand better what rights are being litigated by the lawyers and are being resolved by the judges,” Puno said. He also said that communication between the litigants, lawyers, judges and court staff proved to be much more effective. The chief justice said the results of court experiments with Tagalog in Bulacan province were being validated. “Some sectors are trying to push this idea, not only in Bulacan but in Tagalog-speaking provinces like Cavite, Batangas and Nueva Ecija,” Puno said. But he said that the Supreme Court was still refining the project as there were a number of small problems that should be addressed. One of the problems, according to the Chief Justice, is the presence of other languages and dialects in the Philippines, aside from the widely used Tagalog. In 27-year-old Zosimo Buco’s case, the problem goes beyond understanding and speaking a foreign language such as English. “I came to Manila last January from Leyte. I could speak only (my local dialect) Waray fluently,” Buco said in halting Tagalog. Buco, who was accused of shooting to death a civilian in Quezon City, is detained in the Quezon City jail. He said that like many others from his hometown, he was forced to move to Metro Manila because of poverty. Buco said he was glad that there were efforts to conduct court proceedings in Filipino. “I could then understand what the judge and the lawyers are saying. I only wish that they could conduct it in my native dialect because I cannot speak Tagalog very well,” he said. Buco added that he was afraid that if he could not express himself in court, he would not be able to defend himself. “I want to tell them that I was only a balut vendor and I did not commit the crime they accused me of doing,” he said. Puno said that another problem with the project was the presence of justices in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals who are not adept in Filipino. “And then there is the problem of training the stenographers so they can get the testimonies in Tagalog,” Puno said. Nevertheless, the Chief Justice was positive that the project would help increase the poor’s access to justice should the problems be ironed out. “We are also calling on other experts to see how viable the project would be,” Puno said. |
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