convicted #cj trial

so, is it a moment of rare triumph for the forces of good vs evil, as in, maybe, EDSA uno?  i’m sure the president and his supporters would like to believe so, that this is a win for “the people,” good job.

but as in the aftermath of EDSA, i doubt that it means a new beginning.  i would love to be proven wrong, though, by this now very powerful president who, for all intents and purposes, it would seem, has  shown that he has the legislature and soon will have the judiciary under his thumb, so to speak, and without having to declare martial law, because in the name of “the people.” and let’s not forget the media.

now we know: what this president wants, this president gets.

i don’t know that that is anything to celebrate until we see how else he will use the power.

but i will celebrate when this very powerful president gets the legislature to pass the RH and freedom of information bills into law.  i will celebrate when this very powerful president gets the military to produce jonas burgos and general palparan.  i will celebrate if, when, this very powerful president finally gets the economy truly moving, without leaving anyone behind, now that corona the alleged stumbling block is gone.

let’s not settle for less.

Comments

  1. I almost died laughing listening to Miriam Defensor-Santiago act like the Chief Justice of the Scream Court. I’m so glad the Philippines is deporting her to the ICC. No doubt she’ll soon be known there as The Plague in The Hague.

    And did you see what I saw? A Senator Ferdinand Marcos decrying the alleged abuse of power and violations of civil rights by a President Benigno Aquino? I was amazed.

    (And I totally agree with what you said here)

  2. hi angela,

    it’s fair to do a wait-and-see. they say we should always look a gift horse with askance.

    but still i don’t buy the ‘now powerful prez’ mantra. i thought he did the impeachment because he wasn’t sure he had the power to clean out the old gang, but he felt he had to try, rather than play the same old protection game. with trepidation, i pulled for him on that.

    in many ways he got lucky. the CJ himself made admissions against interest even as his defense overplayed the legal technicalities game, and didn’t realize that the amla is a game changer. the genie is out, and cannot be put back in. the name of the game will now be ‘asset nondisclosure trusts’ – except the risk there is that the trustee can turn around and betray the trustor/beneficiary. this in itself is a ‘new beginning’, though perhaps not enough.

    the inertia of bureaucracy, the various pathologies of filipino culture, the silly laws on the books that backfire against their intent – they remain. as told by gene kelly through pogo, the enemy remains us. but it will help that the doronilas and tiglaos will now have to shut up, although i suspect they will be the first to scream if the prez does a misstep. and that’s a good free expression outcome.

    if you and ninez are right, the HLI decision will turn. if rene s and i are right, it will stay put. i think that’s a fair bet, and a litmus test.

    • baycas

      Both you and Rene S. are right on the HLI.

      —–

      It wasn’t a cunning move to reduce the impeachment into a question of law in the hope that Corona may bring the venue to home court.

      His team tried but failed. Even Defensor-Santiago tried but failed.

      Judicialization of politics will not come to fruition.

      Lito Lapid (and the like) will attest to that.

    • One lesson which this impeachment trial taught me is that piercing the veil of Secrecy law to protect ill-gotten wealth by public servants is a necessary surgical power by the state to extricate the cancer of corruption and promotes social justice pursuant to the equal protection law.

  3. GabbyD

    ” what this president wants, this president gets.”

    sabi ng mga senador, the vote became clearer for them after the testimony by corona.

    if what u are saying is true, then the vote has always been clear? that this is all just a show? why do you think that?

  4. angie, I will pray for your wish for Pnoy to be a “powerful president” in order to clean the govt from top to bottom and to have a down stream effect of dispensing justice without the pricy tag of “TRO”. Truly the judiciaristocracy was shaken, i sincerely hope his moral ascendancy will help stop human rights abuses by the military, reduce if not prevent extra-judicial killings (which an AWOL police/ex-military officer is always involved), and implement a no-nonsense accountability drive against erring public officials given the positive trust factor he is enjoying. There is a long list of “wishful changes” which our national leaders must collectively address if we really want our govt bureaucracy respond to the grievances of ordinary citizens.

  5. Hi, Angela.

    I hope this guilty verdict won’t be the only “accomplishment” in the SONA. Have we had other good news since the last SONA?

    A follow-up on the FOI bill would be nice. Now that they’re all singing the same song, having a legal backup to enforce transparency would be nice and timely.

    Oh, and as impractical as it may sound, maybe someone should really do a follow-up on those waivers from our dear congressmen. Magkaalaman na. If we’re really serious about cleaning up the system, the time is NOW.