PHNO-STANDARD: KEEP THE NECK BRACE HANDY

STANDARD: KEEP THE NECK BRACE HANDY

MANILA, JULY 27, 2012
(STANDARD) By Jojo Robles - If I were former President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, I would enjoy my furlough.
That's because her temporary freedom could end at any moment, when
a new warrant for her arrest is issued on the separate, non-bailable charges of
plunder filed against her by the Ombudsman.
That's right – "when," not "if." This much can be gleaned from the statement
of Malacañang Palace yesterday in reaction to the decision of a Pasay City
regional trial court judge to allow the release of Arroyo on bail in connection
with the electoral sabotage case filed against her before it.
Let's go, as the sportscasters say, to the tape. This is what presidential
spokesman Edwin Lacierda had to say on the matter of Arroyo's release:
"The fight against corruption continues," Lacierda said. "That's the reason
why there is a PCSO case still before the Sandiganbayan."
The other case Lacierda is talking about involves Arroyo's alleged misuse of
funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, which she is supposed to
have committed with the help of the old board of directors of that agency. This
was the plunder case filed by the current PCSO board just days before President
Noynoy Aquino delivered his State of the Nation Address – where Aquino certainly
gave no indication that he was, in his "kanto boy" harangue, about to "forgive
and forget" the sins of his predecessor.
Even making allowances for the usual lying that is a major part of Lacierda's
job, I am forced to conclude that there will be no let-up in the current
Malacañang tenant's pursuit of Arroyo. Even the theory that Aquino may be giving
in to "international pressure" to release Arroyo is, in my opinion, not
acceptable, given the relentless campaign of this President to make his
predecessor's life a living hell.
(If the phrase "international pressure" meant anything to Aquino, he would
have first secured the approval of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
before taking on China, thus avoiding a lot of embarrassment for himself and his
country. No, this is one President who will not be swayed by what people outside
this country – who do not vote here or do not turn up in popularity surveys –
think.)
The PCSO case has already been submitted by the Ombudsman to the
Sandiganbayan anti-graft court, which will probably issue a new warrant to lock
up Arroyo once again. Best to keep the neck brace handy, is all I'm saying.
* * *
The electoral sabotage case, after all, worked to keep Arroyo in jail for
eight months. In the political calculus of Aquino and his sympathizers, this
fact more than makes up for the problem of having such a demonstrably weak case
filed against her for supposedly rigging past elections that no sane judge would
eventually refuse to grant her bail for.
As for the filing of the PCSO case, its timing is thoroughly suspect. I've
been told that Malacañang has had advance information that the Pasay judge,
Jesus Mupas, was about to grant Arroyo bail this month, which was why a new case
would have to be filed immediately against the former President to ensure that
she doesn't stay out of jail so long that she forgets that she is still Aquino's
Enemy Number One.
For those who may have forgotten the PCSO case, that's the one where Arroyo
and the old sweepstakes board was accused of "willfully, unlawfully and
criminally amass[ing]…ill-gotten wealth in the aggregate amount or total value
of P365,997,915.00." Arroyo has a new set of co-accused in this case: former
PCSO general manager Rosario Uriarte; assistant general manager for finance
Benigno Aguas; former PCSO board members Sergio Valencia, Manuel Morato,
Raymundo Roquero, Jose Taruc V, and Maria Fatima Valdes; and former Commission
on Audit Chairman Reynaldo Villar and COA Region 5 head Nilda Plaras.
If this new charge doesn't stick, either, others will surely be found. And so
on, until Aquino decides that he's had enough fun with his predecessor and
allows her to come and go as she pleases.
It would certainly be very convenient if Justice Secretary Leila de Lima is
already chief justice of the Supreme Court when the PCSO case "runs its course"
and "follows the process," as this administration likes to say when it is
employing supposedly legal means to persecute its political enemies. And if
Arroyo and her lawyers contest the maneuvers of government prosecutors in the
future, Chief Justice De Lima will surely be act accordingly and make sure no
inconvenient temporary restraining order is issued on her former office. The
lower courts, under the supervision of the high tribunal, can also be expected
to do what their chief justice desires – and justice will finally be served
seamlessly and without delay.
Again, I wouldn't get too comfortable on the outside, if I were Arroyo. I'd
consider her release on bail a short —maybe a very short—vacation.


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




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