“Yet, here’s a spot. Out damned spot; out I say.” She resumes washing her hands and continues: not all the perfumes of Arabia will sweeten this little hand… She cannot get the stain or smell of blood off her hand.
Impeached Supreme Court Justice Renato C. Corona is no Lady Macbeth. But there’s the spot indeed. The more he denies all the allegations against him the more visible are the stain that is in his hands. It is a spot, whether or not the senators as judges give him a thumbs down; majority of the people have already done that.
His allege diabetes, heart condition, and dizzy spells that he displayed during his testimony before a global audience, the doctors of Arabia, er Manila, could not cure. As Lady Macbeth’s doctor suggests in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, it’s a priest that’s needed here not a physician. In his own words CJ Corona said “I do not think that I am guilty.” That thinking burdens his soul. He may be able to hide with the laws of the land as his cover but there is a higher law.
He cleverly used the impeachment court as a platform to exult his character and attack those who he believed are his personal enemies. Clever because whatever he said as part of his testimony could not be used against him in the court of law. He did this without presenting facts to demolish accusations against him. His three hour testimony was a narration of his virtues and the evils of his accusers.
He ended by signing a document allowing all relevant government agencies to open all his bank accounts and investigate his alleged properties including his tax declarations. That would have turned the tide in his favour in the eyes of the public. But no, the CJ put one condition: his signed waiver to the Philippine’s Bank Secrecy laws would only be in effect if all 188 congressmen signatories to his impeachment and Senator Franklin Drillon similarly execute exactly the same waiver.
Para bang: Show me yours, and I’ll show you mine. Or “umamin ka muna bago ako.” Lest we forget, it is SC Chief Justice who is accused here. The others may equally be corrupt but they are not on the stand; the CJ is.
This point reminds me of a testimony of a man before a court accused of stealing a carabao. The man denied stealing a carabao but admitted to stealing a piece of rope. He did not know that a carabao was tied to the other end of the same rope, so he said. Similarly to the CJ, he said he is not guilty of stealing a carabao because he merely stole a piece of rope and the carabao just happened to be attached to it.
Not a perfect analogy but so are the CJ’s explanations: He does not have $12M but only $2.4M in his dollar accounts. His peso account is not only his but co-mingled with that of the other members of his family. He does not have to declare his dollar account in his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth, SALN, because there is the bank secrecy law protecting him. He does not have to declare his 80M peso account because although it’s in his name he is just its custodian or manager.
When I was at the seminary, a fellow seminarian Antonio de la Cruz, son of a top-notch Cotabato City lawyer Jose de la Cruz, was one night brought before the community accused of drinking a gallon of tuba with other seminarians (Oh yeah – we were not saints then and neither now!). The confrontation was heated with the Seminary Dean as the prosecutor, Tony and company at the defense. (Actually there was no defense they were caught in the midst of a drinking spree, with glasses on hand, seen by witnesses).
Tony and company admitted to the drinking but argued that the accusation was wrong and must not be admitted as a court should not (learned it from his dad, perhaps). He said they did not have a gallon— only half! Tony claimed that he and cohorts were accused of the wrong crime, a gallon instead of half! Again the analogy is not perfect but so is the CJ’s palusot. (By the way Tony has been priest for years and is now Father Provincial of the Carmelite Order and living a pious life).
As of this writing, with bated breath, we await how Supreme Court Justice Renato C. Corona’s impeachment trial will end. Will the senate give the necessary numbers to convict him or will they decide against the sentiment of the majority of the Filipino people by acquitting him. Or, they could play safe by abstaining. Whichever course the senate goes the CJ’s reputation and honour are tarnished and as such has no place in the Highest Court of the land.
Again “not all the perfumes of Arabia will sweeten this little hand”.