CONCLUSION
MANILA, JANUARY 31, 2012 (MANILA STANDARD) By Bong
Austero - Many among us try to project this impression that we
continue to have an open mind as to whether or not the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court is guilty of the crimes for which he has been impeached by the
House of Representatives and being tried by the Senate.
There are those who go through the motions of following the proceedings of
the impeachment trial purportedly for the purpose of discerning for themselves
the real value of the tons of evidence presented thus far, or conversely,
ascertaining the real merits of the spirited arguments of the defense panel.
There continue to be many who pretend that they have not made up their minds
yet about the guilt or innocence of the Chief Justice—and I am not necessarily
talking about Senators Frank Drilon, Francis Pangilinan, or Ralph Recto.
Let us get real, people. Most of us who give a flying fig about the issue
have already made up our minds a long time ago. And many of us made the decision
based on party affiliation, our degree of affection or dislike for the main
protagonists, and other subjective considerations.
The only people who haven't made up their minds yet are those who just don't
care one way or the other. These are the people who cannot and do not see how
the impeachment of the chief magistrate will affect their lives or improve their
lot, those who tend to see the whole thing as a very costly exercise with
dubious practical value, or those who are disenchanted with the way the stink of
politics tend to dirty everything else in this country.
Please spare me the lecture about how the impeachment process is the bedrock
of democracy and how everyone should be presumed innocent unless proven guilty
or at least allowed to defend himself against his accusers.
Please stop telling me that the whole process is designed to ensure fairness
and to usher out justice.
We all know that the impeachment trial is not about fairness or justice
regardless of the number of times these words are invoked like an
all-encompassing mantra by the senator-judges and the members of the prosecution
and defense panels.
Impeachment is a political exercise. And sadly, the level of political
maturity in this country is not something we can crow about. We're still
electing clowns and their wives to public office.
We're still relying on sheer charisma and political machinery to propel
people into office. We're still mistaking looks, eloquence and pedigree for
competence. And worse, we still continue to strengthen political patronage and
use political largesse to buy affections, affiliations, and yes, votes.
The prosecution panel wants to convey the impression that it wants to try the
Chief Justice based on the rules of impeachment. What balderdash! Any person
with eyes, ears, and half a functioning brain can see what the prosecution is up
to. It just wants to overwhelm everyone with accusations. It is not interested
in building a tight case—it wants to instigate a mob and force a decision based
on outrage and emotions.
The defense wants to convey the impression that it is scoring points during
the impeachment hearing because its lawyers are able to outwit, out-argue,
out-maneuver the prosecution. They can score points inside the hall, but I doubt
very much if they can claim that they are winning the public relations battle.
The bright boys at Malacañang Palace has been trying to pretend that they are
leaving Chief Justice Renato Corona's fate up to the senator justices. What
hogwash!
The government has marshaled the resources of the whole bureaucracy in
support of the impeachment.
Is there anyone in this country who believes the Bureau of Internal Revenue
came up with the kind of information they were able to present to the
impeachment court in a matter of days with just one person working on it?
And let's all face it. No less than that the President of the Republic of the
Philippines has been strongly championing Corona's impeachment.
Benigno Simeon Aquino III has not made secret his overwhelming and consuming
passion to oust Corona from the Supreme Court.
In fact, if we are to interpret the President's pronouncements on the issue
sans the diplomacy that a head of state is supposed to observe, it would be
this: I don't care what it takes or how you do it, just get that son of a b*tch
out of there as soon as possible, preferably right this very minute.
In fairness to some of the senator judges, in particular, Senate President
Juan Ponce Enrile, there are efforts to imbue the proceedings with as much
integrity and fairness as possible. But then again, we all know how politicians
in this country conduct themselves when push comes to shove.
Lest we forget, 2013 is an election year and half of the people sitting as
senator judges are running for re-election. They cannot afford to waste
political capital.
So must of us watch the impeachment trial for our own reasons.
There are those who watch it for entertainment, like it's the biggest and
most spectacular soap opera ever produced. And if we come to think about it, the
costs associated with this trial are staggering.
For example, the legislation has virtually come to a halt with the trial.
Lawyers and law students watch it mainly for its educational content, like it's
a law school on air where Justice Serafin Cuevas is professor and people like
Niel Tupas are, well, the clueless students.
But seriously guys, who are we kidding? The end result of this impeachment
trial is already a foregone conclusion. What we are seeing are valiant efforts
to just prove a point or two.
[A boy looks at the waters of Manila Bay from his family's shanty along
the coast of Navotas City. Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said the government
will work to make the bay fit for swimming before President Aquino steps down in
2016. BOY SANTOS]
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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