A historic event happened yesterday, May 29, 2012, when the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Renato Corona, was convicted of the charge against him in Article II of the Articles of impeachment "pertaining to his failure to disclose to the public his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN)."[1]
- Photo credit: http://www.philippinenewsdaily.com/2011/12/14579/corona-impeachment-pnoy-thanks-188-lawmakers.html
To quote the 88 years old Senate President, Juan Ponce Enrile, 'The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, having tried Chief Justice Renato Corona, upon three articles of impeachment charged against him by the House of Representatives, by a guilty vote of 20 senators, has found him guilty of the charge under Article II...Now therefore, be it adjudged that Renato Corona, is hereby convicted of the charge against him in Article II of the Articles of impeachment, so ordered." [2]
I have mixed emotions regarding this verdict. But one thing is clear, I'm sure that politicians will all be doomed in a wheelchair or will suddenly suffer from diabetes, heart attack or what have you, once the Filipino people or other concerned entities will file an impeachment case against them like what the Congress did to CJ Corona. :p
Kidding aside, if I were to be asked what fate should be bestowed upon the embattled CJ Corona, no doubt that it should be a guilty verdict. Corona's behavior is so unbecoming of a chief justice. I am no lawyer but, I seriously think that it's about time to replace him because how can we trust him if he gave us a lot of reasons to doubt his credibility?
Although the alleged Corona's omission on good faith in his SALN is not an impeachable offense, per se, it still imposed a dangerous implication on his position as chief justice.
Let me cite a quote from Paulo Coehlo's novel "The Devil and Miss Prym" which I think summarizes the implication of Corona's dangerous omission: "'In the beginning, there was only a small amount of injustice abroad in the world, but everyone who came afterwards added their portion, always thinking it was very small and unimportant, and look where we have ended up today.'" [3]
Yeah, look where the Philippines ended up today because of little lies made by most government officials which piled up into something beyond comprehension. No wonder our country still belongs to one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
Having said that, he should be replaced with someone who will wear the chief justice's robe with untainted honor, honesty, dignity, courage, eloquence, and sharp and strong disposition. Moreover, the new chief justice should be impartial or unprejudiced in exercising his/her judiciary power. We need a chief justice who cannot be swayed by the influences of his/her peers, colleagues or people with vested interests and hidden agenda that may be detrimental to the justice system.
I am extremely disappointed with his behavior, too. I expected CJ Corona to be more regal or intimidating when it comes to handling his own case. Fight law with law; accusations anchored in the articles of impeachment with strong rebuttals by quoting provisions to prove his rebuttals; or defend himself until he drops or exhausted all his counter-arguments. But no, his nerves got the best of him. Too bad for him and for the entire nation, too. Ipinahamak din niya ang sarili niya.
Like what they say, IGNORANCE OF THE LAW EXCUSES NO ONE. He is the chief justice, he is definitely not ignorant of the law and therefore, he is no exception to the rule. Following this logic, he has no right to make his own interpretations of the law for his personal gains. And of course, with great emphasis, this should apply to all government officials.
Meanwhile, our grandstanding politicians are washing their hands clean on the issue. Nakakasuka, oo, pero tapos na ang voting. No use crying over spilled milk. But, what now? It is definitely wishful thinking to remove most of these rotten politicians for the Philippine government to start with a clean slate.
At this point, it's quite impossible to remove them from office since the entire nation already voted in 2010 and placed them in position. So, we have to make do with what we have to create and implement solutions. But how will it happen? It has yet to unfold before our eyes.
After all this brouhaha, this country SERIOUSLY needs to reform, restructure, revamp and rebuild its government. I still have high hopes for our country.
By the way, although I agree with the guilty verdict against CJ Corona, I still don't like that guy in Malacañang who loves to play PSP and parade his new conquests to cover up his incompetent leadership.
To quote Sen. Miriam Santiago, "Strike me dead!"
Footnote:
[1] ^ "Senate votes 20-3 to convict Corona" .Inquirer.net. 2012-5-29. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
[2] http://ph.news.yahoo.com/verdict-is-out.html?clear=cache
[3] Paulo Coehlo, The Devil and Miss Prym (HarperTorch,Harper Collins Publisher, Inc., New York, USA), 49.
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