all in a day's work

I was not prepared at all for what I have witnessed today. I attended the preliminary investigation of the estafa case that our firm is handling. The office of the prosecutor was quite small so everyone in the room knew exactly what was going on in all of the cases that were called.

The case that was called before ours was for rape. The rape victim was in her teens. The accused was nowhere in sight. From the conversation between prosecutor and the family of the victim, it appeared that the family was no longer interested in pursuing the case. The prosecutor did not look convinced at all. She kept asking questions as to why the victim was desisting from the case. At one point the father of the victim tried to express himself. He said, "Gusto ko po ipaalam ang saloobin ko, ngunit ako po ay nahihirapan." While he was saying this, it was clear that he was trying to fight his emotions. I think the decision to back out was not really his. But then again I am in no position to make such assumptions. The prosecutor tried to address the victim directly. When she asked the girl why they were withdrawing from the case, the girl started sobbing.

At this point, I was already panicking in my head. I did not want to be there to hear the victim's answer 'coz I know that whatever her reason was for backing out would simply break my heart. Maybe she simply wants to suffer in silence. Maybe she and her family were threatened by the accused. Maybe, feeling defeated and hopeless, she saw no point in putting the accused behind bars. I could not really think of any other reason which could somehow paint a happy ending to this tragedy.

When the prosecutor asked her why she was desisting from the case for the second time, the rape victim managed to answer in between sobs, "Kasi po wala sya kasalanan." Wrong answer. The prosecutor got suspicious at this point. With narrowed eyes she asked the victim, "Pano mo nasabi?" She said this with so much force that I was not able to stop my eyes from widening. The prosecutor caught my reaction and realizing how sensitive the case was, she decided that I had seen enough. After collecting herself, the prosecutor looked straight at me and said, "Yung sa'yo Attorney(Yes, I get this all the time these days.=P), for resolution na ha. Hindi dumating yung complainant." And that was my cue to leave the room.

It was only while I was descending the stairs that I realized that, aside from the prosecutor, I was the only stranger there in the room. Because of all that was going on in the room, I failed to notice that all the other cases have been called already and that I was the only one left to witness the drama.

I was actually glad that she made me leave. I really had no wish of finding out why the victim changed her mind about the case. I didn't have the heart for it. The sight of the victim sobbing with her family by her side, all trying to give the appearance of strength when in fact they looked so defeated, was too much for me to handle.

I am supposed to get used to this kind of scenario. But then is it actually possible for someone to get used to this kind of circumstance? I'm willing to bet that the prosecutor herself, despite her years of experience, was taken aback by the decision of the victim. I don't think anyone with a heart would actually be able to simply shrug their shoulders when they hear of something like this.

This is not really something that you could nor should get used to.