PHNO-OPINION: SEASON OF HATRED

OPINION: SEASON OF HATRED
MANILA, MAY 26, 2012
(STANDARD) by Manila Standard - THE self-righteous critics
of Chief Justice Renato Corona who call into question his moral ascendancy to
hold office would do well to examine the depth of their hatred for the
magistrate, and ask themselves what exactly makes his actions so reprehensible.

As a way of clarifying their thinking, we suggest we begin with a simple
outline of the facts, and move on to a comparison with other celebrated court
cases to put these emotions in perspective.
After all the hullabaloo, the media hate campaign encouraged by the Aquino
administration, and a protracted trial, the main complaint is that the chief
justice failed to submit a truthful account of his assets, liabilities and net
worth—an offense that is open to interpretation, given the laws governing
banking secrecy.
Assuming for a moment that the chief justice erred in his interpretation of
such laws, is this truly the kind of high crime that the Constitution speaks of
when it refers to the grounds for impeachment? Was this "crime" worth mobilizing
vast state resources and ignoring the more pressing national concerns?
By way of comparison, was this truly a more serious crime than, say, a
military comptroller who used his position to squirrel away millions of dollars
in bribes and public funds, and whose sons were caught red-handed trying to
smuggle wads of dollars into the United States? Did the same strident critics of
the chief justice raise a hue and cry when the government allowed the former
general to plead to a lesser offense and absolved his family members of all
liability?
Or how about the involvement of a powerful political clan—led by a former
governor and a mayor—in the brazen massacre of 58 people in Maguindanao province
in November 2009? Do the same self-righteous critics who seethe with hatred for
the chief justice denounce the heinous crime with the same passion they reserved
for the ongoing impeachment trial?
Unlike the rushed impeachment proceedings that are drawing to a close, the
murder trial drags on more than two years after what has been described as the
single worst incident of political violence in our country's history.
Why do we not hear the administration's allies beating their chests over the
injustice of it all?
Why do we not hear them reminding this administration that if they can move
heaven and earth to punish an erroneous statement of assets, liabilities and net
worth, they should do no less when the murder of 58 men and women is involved?

Sadly, in this season of hatred spawned by a vindictive administration, we
seem to have lost all perspective.


Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All
rights reserved




PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet

This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.

To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/

(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/