COURT VISIT 7TH JUDICIAL REGION, BRANCH XIII, REGIONAL TRIAL COURT (Illegal possession of firearms and use

of drugs) At the judiciary section in Cebu which they commonly call The Palace has been chosen by me and my partner, it is to observe 7th Judicial Region, Regional Trial Court Branch XIII, with Judge Meinrado P. Paredes as the presiding judge. The physical arrangement of the court compared to the scenes that we see in movies is quite similar but differences can be observed. Piled papers were placed at the left side of the room facing the judge at the centre. The witness is seated at the left side also, below the judges area is the stenographer and facing front of the witness is the interpreter. The two lawyers were seated in the very front with a different table, facing the judge. The suspects came handcuffed, lined up and seated at the right side of the court while the relatives of some, the observers and BJMP guards were seated at the centre of the court with few baffled faces. The session started with a Prayer then the judge called the court in order. The Cases were read in order with designated dates. There were cases mentioned but confirmed with no return of notice. Then session started, the focus was on Case no. 7, the witness was then called and was tasked to recite a pledge before he was questioned by the 1st lawyer. The witness was then asked who the suspect was by mentioning the name and telling the court of whom among the seated people was he/she. The lawyers came busy reading this what they call joint affidavit. These papers were thoroughly read and questions were administered and given by the first lawyer. While negotiations were on-going the judge was writing with focus on his paper including the two lawyers. Then the judge also, in some few intervals asked the witness with questions. The joint affidavit held by the lawyer was being confirmed and showed to the witness. Evidences were photocopied papers and photos attached in a folder. The evidences were re-examined and not just confirmed by the witness but consistency was also thoroughly studied between the affidavit and the testimony of the witness. But

in some instances, I observed that the secretary was also busy playing in her phone while translating Cebuano and English conversations between the lawyer and the witness. The witness on the other hand, pressured of what he must say in a vigilant way, really looks nervous but also slightly confident. He was a police officer. The judge on the other hand, was busy writing and adding questions for confirmatory purposes on the witness. The suspects on the right side of the court facing the judge were not privileged to talk and remained seated to keep quiet and observe. The scene in the court was not one of the usual things I see every day. It seemed like when I was inside the court room, a rope with written words of ignorance of the law is not an excuse is binding me, making it difficult to move. I was stunned with the view seeing handcuffed men with BJMP guards on duty. I also saw few family members of the suspects present giving foods, love and support. I can feel their mixed emotions of sadness and happiness. The judge seemed normal and a little fierce but was also thoroughly doing his job. In my case, I found it difficult to understand a lot of words they were mentioning on the court. I could feel that executing laws can be very difficult especially when people are not willing to follow it. There were few complications that I also observed during the hearing like; inconsistency of statements between the former and the latter witness, deficiency on sufficient evidences and incomprehensive joint affidavits. Being able to experience a court visit not just reminded me that reaching the age of 18 is crucial but also helped me to see that I should ALWAYS be a good citizen of the Philippines at ALL TIMES.