When Justice Becomes Punishment: Prolonged Trial Detention as Arbitrary Detention in the Philippines

In Philippine jails today, thousands of detainees are being punished without a verdict. They wait in overcrowded cells—some for two, three, even five years or more—while their cases crawl through a clogged court system. Although they are presumed innocent under the law, they serve what effectively becomes a sentence before their guilt is even proven. This is not just a delay in justice—it is a quiet, persistent form of arbitrary detention.

Across the country, many pretrial detainees have already spent more time behind bars than the maximum penalty for the crimes they are accused of. This injustice happens not because the law allows it, but because our courts are overwhelmed, our judges overburdened, and our criminal justice process is broken. Court hearings are often scheduled months apart, only to be reset because a witness is absent, a forensic officer has another hearing, or there is a vacancy in the court.

These detainees are not being forgotten; they are being trapped by a system that is unable to function in a timely and fair manner. Their detention is not based on the gravity of their offense or their risk to public safety, but on administrative dysfunction and bureaucratic inertia. This is the very definition of arbitrariness—where the loss of liberty is no longer grounded in law but simply in mismanagement.

The United Nations, through the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is clear: pretrial detention must be necessary, proportionate, and subject to regular judicial review. It must never be the default. In a landmark opinion, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has declared that prolonged pretrial detention—especially when due to systemic delays—is a violation of human rights.

While the Supreme Court is acutely aware of the situation and has implemented many interventions to address the issue, such as the introduction of the Justice Zones and continuous appointment of judges to address vacancies, still, the problem persists.

It is time for the Philippines to adopt a strict scrutiny rule: any detention that exceeds two years without conviction must trigger a mandatory judicial review. At this stage, judges must be required to re-evaluate whether continued detention is still justified. Is the accused truly a flight risk? Is there clear and convincing evidence of danger to society? Have prosecutors shown diligence in advancing the case? If the answers are uncertain, the individual must be released under reasonable conditions.

This reform is both legal and humane. It will reduce jail congestion, save government resources, and protect the constitutional rights of persons deprived of liberty. More importantly, it will restore the integrity of our justice system, which is now complicit in punishing the innocent through inaction.

Some may argue that this proposal gives leeway to the guilty. But justice is not served by punishing without finding the accused guilty. A justice system that allows indefinite detention without accountability is not protecting society—it is eroding the very rule of law it claims to uphold.

Prolonged pretrial detention, in the absence of compelling and reviewed justifications, is no different from arbitrary detention. If we are to be a society that respects dignity, fairness, and due process, we must not allow punishment to come before judgment. Liberty is too sacred a right to be left at the mercy of court calendars.