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Structural Fucntionalism

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Structural Fucntionalism

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strnews.eagles
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Personal Essay

PLTCOL RICHARD E MEPANIA


PSOSEC 2020-02

I will be presenting this piece as a Critical Essay, which underlines the weak and strong points of
the subject I wish to discuss. Let me open my discourse with the infamous phrase, “United we
stand, divided we fall” which means that it is wise to stick together and work in collaboration
with others instead of working against each other. Working as one is a sure shot way to success
and achieve our goals and objectives.

For me, I could relate this idea to the Structural Functionalism, one of the main sociological
theories, also known as Structural-Functional Theory, which sees the society as a structure with
interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of the individuals in a
particular society. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), who identified similarities between society and
the human body; he argued that as just as the vicious organs of the body works together to keep
the body functioning, the various parts of society work together to keep society functioning. As
we all know, the popular motto “United we stand, divided we fall,” often shortened to “United
We Stand” is commonly used to express unity and collaboration. The phrase is used to
encourage and inspire, and sends the message that working together is easier, as there is strength
in numbers, whereas doing things alone is harder and invites failure.

The collaborations and interactions from among the society members enable the formation of
social groups, shape cultures and bring people together towards a common cultural and social
background. All as integral parts of each other define the patterns of relationships and develop
social networks.

Understanding this context, let us now examine the present set up of our very own Criminal
Justice System. The five parts or pillars of the Philippine Criminal Justice System function like a
Chain of link, interconnected with each other. All these pillars, the Community, the Law
Enforcement, the Prosecution, the Courts and the Corrections must work together cohesively to
properly deliver the administration of justice. The failure of one pillar will cause malfunction or
dysfunction which may directly or indirectly affect the other to the detriment of the ends of
justice.

The administration of Criminal Justice under the purview of the Philippine Legal System is
presently beset with so many challenges from the point of view of the discerning public to the
five pillars of the Criminal Justice System itself. From clogged cases in courts, to the issues of
poverty hindering majority of the population to avail of legal services, and if there are free
lawyers for them, the Public Attorneys’ Office is undermanned. The delays or long overdue
promulgations of cases due to Court workloads result in overcrowded prisons and correctional
facilities, and in some cases delays the justice for some of those who were put behind bars but
were later proved to be innocent and there lies what others believe, the injustice.

The struggling judicial system in the country contributes heavily to the overcrowding
penitentiary with some prisoners cannot avail of the bail bond due to abject poverty. By
statistics, the Philippines was considered as the country in Southeast Asia with the highest
number of pre-trial detainees and second in Asia. The existence of corruption and incompetent
investigators or prosecutors further aggravate all these situations which often results in unjust
and prolonged detention of crime suspects who may not in anyway involved in the case at bar.

If I may borrow and quote the maxim, “Justice delayed is justice denied it actually summaries
the current state of the country’s judiciary system, though, the process is moving, along the way,
the available remedies, the tedious process of appeals, pleadings and hearings, takes it to the long
way of finding and seeking justice.

Along with these realities, we shall also take into consideration the system processes and all
underlying factors affecting its efficient administration such as rigidity, complexity, formalities,
indiscipline and the knowledge in the law or education of the people who are directly affected by
the spherical aspects of the law.

Understanding the concept of the administration of justice necessitates that we should all know
the concepts of justice in relation to equity and equality. As a system, criminal justice is made up
of inter correlated parts where the institution and processes are made and to achieve its goals,
each part must function correctly.
The ongoing reforms being undertaken by the government such as the eCourts programme and
effective use of our present technology (Conduct of e-Hearings and e-trials) and exchange
relationship or the plea bargaining concept somehow ease up the overburdened trial courts with
some relative numbers of celebrated and or trivial cases. To sum it up, the success in the
administration of justice primarily lies on the shoulder of each member of the CJS.

It is therefore imperative that all systems go and the functions of each and every members of the
Criminal Justice System (CJS) collaborate with each other, sadly, we are still far from perfectly
achieving the same.

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