‘Judgment Day’

Sa totoo lang po, The whole household of mine was glued to the tv Tuesday afternoon (Philippine time) for the culmination of the 4-month long Impeachment Trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona of the Philippine Supreme Court. It was Judgment Day for Corona and the Senator- judges of the Impeachment Court will hand down each’s individual verdict whether to find him guilty or acquitted.
‘GUILTY’ was the decision handed down by 20 senators, akmost 2/3 the total number of solons in the Upper Chamber of Congress. Only three senators voted for acquittal.
Erudite is a word that can describe the explanatory statements of most judges. There was a number of them, that impressed (and naikintal sa aking isip) me so much either because of the sincerity and the simplicity of the way they delivered their explanations , the substantiveness and conviction of their statements or simply and may ‘kakaibang’ diskarte ng mga binigkas nilang pananalita.
Presiding Judge Juan Ponce Enrile’s opening statements seemed like a portent for a gloomy verdict for the prosecution team- he mentioned observations that did not really please him- the anomalous manner of getting evidences, the’ bloating’ of amounts and values attached to supposed undeclared properties of the accused; he expressed agreement with the defense over the observance of ‘correct’ legal and technical demeanors in front of the court, ‘patama’ to the prosecution who seemed to bungle all the time at the start of trial- ‘unprepared’ daw, their case hastily assembled and therefore had so many kinks that needed ironing out; ‘di- rin courtroom- savvy ang neophyte- lawyers- congressmen and this showed everytime they opened their mouths to speak, stammering and mumbling to the amusement (from the defense team and the senator- judges; groups, perhaps) or ‘inis’ of gallery audience(and Sen Miriam yata). I really thought Enrile would render a ‘not guilty’ decision at that point.
Kakaiba din ang opening salvo ni Sen Manny Villar- hala, nilitanya na ang sama ng loob as he likened his experience with what Corona was going through- ‘ayaw nating mapagbintangan, may mga ebidensiyang ipinamarali sa media, mga dokumento na pawang hindi totoo, mga paninira pa sa pamilya at pagkwestyon sa kanyang ‘hirap’ noong bata pa siya- issues hurled by mga katunggali sa posisyon when he was a presidential contender in the past elections. Nasira din daw ang magandang pangalan ng kanyang pamilya ng tulad ng kay Corona. Sinundan pa nya ng ‘sana, hwag gamitin ang kapangyarihan sa pagkalap ng ebidensya , sna etc. etc’ Dami talaga patama nya kay Pres. Noynoy. But in the end, he said ‘sorry pero…’ GUILTY pa rin ang naging boto nya.
Aba, I was very touched with Sen. Lito Lapid’s short explanation of his ‘guilty’ verdict- surprised ako lalo with his verdict (d iba diehard itong mama for the former lady prexy?). ‘ano ba ang alam nitong senador Lapid na ito- isang high- school graduate lang at lalong walang alam sa trabaho ng isang abogado at interpretasyon ng batas’- words to that effect. Baka lang daw mapagtawanan na naman sya sa pagmention ng mga R.A. (Republic Act) dyan so he did not prepare for a formal speech. Ni hindi nga raw nya mawawaan yang ‘pizza pie ( a pie chart, I suppose) pero if you liken your explanation to the number of glasses that you can pour in a big container, perhaps drum, then, baka maintindihan pa niya. Kasi yun ang lebel ng pag- iisip nya tulad na rin ng pag- iisip ng nakakaraming masang Pilipino. He said pinag- aralan nya ang lahat ng puntos ng usaping ito and finally declared “I am basing my verdict on CONSCIENCE- konsyensya.’
Short and sweet ang ‘guilty’ ni Sen. Antonio Trillanes- no explanation.
Sen. Chiz Escudero was sad as he gave his ‘guilty’ verdict. The Chief Justice was an esteemed colleague when he presided over the Judicial Body Council- wala daw syang maireklamo, he was a good friend. He praised Corona for initiating the opening of his financial records and he called on public and civil servants to do as the CJ did- ipakita sa bayan ang lista ng kanilang material and financial possessions. Di man daw nya nagustuhan the manner with which the Lower Chamber of Congress hastily assembled its impeachment case against the CJ, information gathered by him from the court proceedings compelled him to formulate his decision.’ This was further reinforced with the testimonies of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio- Morales and the Chief Justice himself. “Pasencya na,’ he ended.
Meantime, Sen. Ralph Recto admitted that he had doubts and was therefore careful in finally making his decision. The testimonies of the Chief Justice himself gave the answers to all the questions he held in his mind. ‘Guilty’ ang verdict ni Recto.
Sen Jinggoy Estrada ay nagpasakalye ng bitterness as he recalled the sad experience of his father, the former Pres. Erap when he was the subject of an earlier impeachment trial.’At least, the Chief Justice had a fair trial and was heard. My father did not have this privilege as the Presiding Judge at the time was partisan. My father was ousted because of mob rule.’,sabi nya. Pero ‘guilty’ pa rin ang boto ni Sen. Jinggoy,
‘Gusto ko nang mabago ang sistema dito sa ating bayan.’ Iyan ang sabi ni Sen Allan Peter Cayetano when he cast the first ‘guilty’ vote. Stop na daw ang double standard- may batas sa mahirap, iba naman sa mayaman. Kelangan lahat ay pantay- pantay. He prefaced his decision statements with some recollection when he was at his father’s (the late senator Rene ‘Companero’ Cayetano) deathbed during his last treatment for stomach cancer in the U.S. His father said that more than the excruciating pain that he feels in his body is the pain that he feels for the country which deserved to have something better.
One point lang before I end my observations of that day at the Senate. My favorite lady- Sen. Miriam Santiago was medyo nakakaalibadbad as she got so angry with other ka- ligas dahil daw sakanilang mga maling interpretations of the laws that figured in this trial. Sa totoo lang, she had so many good and valid points- pero talaga namang ako ay nainis with the disrespect for the rest of her peer that she very obviously showed. Pwede naman sigurong sinabi nya in a nice way, alam nyo naman tayong mga Pinoy and hmmm, maski naman siguro sinong taga ibang bayan- halos di na maintintindahan ang mga sinasabi nya with the way she raved about her right interpretation and the others’ ‘wrong’ basa of these laws. Banggit pa mandin her membership with the International Criminal Court (she mentioned this twice), her being a law professor, and her having been a judge of a regional trial court as some of her credentials sa pagsasabi na ‘mali at sadyang mali’ ang interpretation ng marami sa mga mambabatas na kasali sa hearings.
The conviction did not send the ‘winners’ clapping their hands, shouting for joy and jumping in jubilation. This was not an ala- Manny Pacquiao victory in the boxing ring. On the contrary, this episode seemed like a sobering experience for all sectors- instead of dividing, mukhang this is serving as catalyst to unite the nation. On the part of elective officials and others who are in government, there is now a move to legislate and implement measures that will ensure that everyone who wishes to join public servive will make available to the public their individual listings of their financial assets and liabilities- a heave of sigh for us ordinary mortals in this country as at last, we see our officials initiating such commendable moves.
People have high hopes that something good will come out of this episode in our history.
What I think is, baka this is a sign na magiging matino na rin lahat ng mga taga gobyerno sa pagmanage ng financial resources assigned to them- hwag sa sariling bulsa dalhin and pera ng bayan kundi sa projects which would benefit our nation. That’s the main reason naman why the money was entrusted to them in the first place. Matatakot na ang mga nagnanakaw, nangongotong, nagpapatong, nagpapadding, salamat naman…
It is also time to see a more vigilant public, a more outspoken people, and a nation that participates in nation- building.
Now, Good Governance is not just another dream.