GLIMPSES
By Jose Ma. Montelibano
From the beginning, it was a matter of character. In the end, it is about character. And Rene Corona affirmed that the character that he has is the one that is capable of destroying a society’s sense of decency, sense of justice, and sense of morality. While he tried to hide behind the legal acrobatics of seasoned lawyers, he must have sensed that he would be hanged after details about his dollar accounts began to surface. He did not take the stand to be transparent; it was the only way to squirt black ink on a truth that was finding its way to the light.
Several have already written about their opinions on the theatrical performance of a Chief Justice out to save his neck even if it meant distorting the truth some more. He had to extol his virtues because no one, except for his Midas who is neither king nor credible, has been brave and articulate enough to do it for him. So the Filipino people had to witness the spectacle of a man with little credibility make a desperate effort to raise his own bench.
Raise his own bench he could not. In his desperation more than his arrogance, Rene Corona forgot a simple marketing principle – that the one without credibility cannot be the main instrument to raise his credibility. Of course, he tried his best, together with his legal scriptwriters, to put on a grand performance before the Filipino public. He had to shatter the utter distrust and adverse judgment already levied on him by a vast majority of Filipinos. He knew the judgment by the senators would be swayed by the sentiment of those who could vote them in again or vote them out of the senate.
It is always the public that has influence over the politician senators. They may claim,though, that the law and the evidence submitted will be the basis of their decision. Somehow, I cannot believe that the influence of public opinion is less valuable than legalities which have as many interpretations as there are lawyers. The collective vote of the public, however, is primordial- except to those who will not be running for reelection anymore.
Instead of raising his bench, Rene Corona lowered the bar of societal morals and ethics. A Chief Justice stands for the very principle of justice, of integrity, of probity, of rock-hard consistency and adherence to the spirit of the law. Rene Corona is known for everything else but what he was supposed to symbolize. Ask Juan de la Cruz which of the aforementioned virtues is a strong character trait of Rene Corona. Ask, but do not be surprised if Juan de la Cruz scratches his head.
When Corona is accused as having been appointed to protect his benefactor, Gloria Arroyo, from prosecution for all the high crimes she is suspected to have committed, it is not his vote as a Justice of the Supreme Court that is being questioned the most. It is his influence as Chief Justice, as chief negotiator between his benefactor or other clients and his fellow Justices for their votes that is the most detestable. The Supreme Court has been the subject of suspicion because it has flipped-flopped in a number of high-profile cases. It is not a Corona but a Corona et al majority vote that has been accused of favoring political and business VIPs.
If a Supreme Court favors one side, especially the losing side, what is the motivation? By and large, as most corruption incidences go, money is the motivation of an unjust decision. That is why the question of where Rene Corona gets his money has been asked and deserves in depth investigation. For someone who cannot properly remember to report his SALN, Corona now claims that he earned lots of money from currency investments. How else can he defend amounts he did not earn openly? His claims merit a fuller, more detailed investigation related to the kind of money he received and dispensed with. It may be the can of worms that can send many to prison.
Amateurish the Prosecution team may be according to some senators and many kibitzers, it had the wisdom and courage to accuse Rene Corona of betraying the public trust. It is a basic accusation grounded on a basic law which requires public officials and employees to maintain a level of ethics and morals befitting their positions of responsibility. The Defense with its alleged superior minds could have parried or twisted legal arguments but could not change the conclusion and judgment of the people against the character of Corona. It could be that the senators know better, that they see in Rene Corona an honorable man, truthful, transparent, honest. But that would mean that at least 70% of Filipinos cannot distinguish between a virtuous man and one without character.
I stand with the understanding and the judgment of the majority of Filipinos. I believe they are perfectly capable to discerning between the honest and the dishonest. I believe that their perspective of the impeachment and the impeached is an intelligent one grounded on common sense and Filipino values. The shameful performance of Rene Corona in his orchestrated appearance in the Senate affirms the soundness and accuracy of the people’s view and judgment.
We are paying a high price to dismantle an environment long controlled by the corrupt because they are also the powerful. The Corona impeachment is not the climax of change, it is the beginning. As we disturb the tradition of corruption in the highest of positions, there will be more resistance by those who cannot afford to lose their power and advantage over others. There will be more clashes if PNoy perseveres in his mission of confronting corruption. His task and our demand for change are made more difficult because Justices like Rene Corona have made the immoral and the unethical defensible.
For graft & corruption to be dismantled
the Thief Justice Corona must be crucified
with the crown of thorns on his head.
Its now or never for the Philippines to survive
as an independent country with its diverse Pinoy culture.
In business, “Honesty is the Best Policy”.
In science, it is “Survival of the Fittest”.
In religion, it is “Salvation of the Unfit”.
The impeachment of Corona has shown
that religion is destructive.
Destructive to the morals and ethics of the Philippines and its people.
Instead of strengthening its moral fiber,
religion has weakened it to the core.
Just look at how the country’s leaders use religion destructively,
surrounded by drama and the flair and glitter of wowwowwee.
Its time to go back to Science for the country to be fit again;
Back to the Business of being honest, Now Or Never.
PNoy, ito lang ang tanging pag-asa para masunod ang “daang matuwid”. Mag-martial law ka na. Kunin mong adviser si Lee Kwan Yew, pihadong uunlad ang Pilipinas. Corona or no Corona, hindi na uubra ang same old, same old. Katunayan, magmula ng nag People Power ang nanay mo, humirap lalo si Juan dela Cruz. Ang mayayaman, mga political families at robber barons pa rin.
What he did? He has effectively given a picture of what a Chief Justice should not be, what a man of honor should not be, what a leader should not be, in other words, he depicted the other side of what a person of his stature should be. Pathetic. But truly, no wrong (midnight appointment) can be made right by a chain of wrongs, no matter who says they are right. CJ is wrestling for power that do not properly belong to him.
The ball is in the senator-judges court. These “referees” in this unfortunate trial had given so much leeway to this unworthy mascot to the detrimental interest of the Filipino people. Time to fold the circus tent.
The senator-judges must now convict this laughable fool of a clown!
Let us get to serious business of going after the Mother of all clowns–GMA!
Rene is a huge disappointment to his claim that he was part of the spirit of the high school batch of Edgar Jopson who gave his life to fight for truth and justice. As Ping Lacson was heard saying on TV, one former justice advised him not to just look at the evidence as final basis for his judgment as senator-judge but to look at the overall character profile of the man who was surreptitiously appointed by his benefactor before the midnight clock ticked in order to turn a frog into a prince of darkness. For someone who willingly submitted a false resume to the Supreme Court records that will be seen by the whole world, expecting his classmates and the Ateneo school records not to refute or, perhaps, not caring what they would say since he was above all of them as “Chief Justice of the Republic of the Philippines” is enough proof of an insidious character not worth trusting much less entrusting the once exalted, now terribly blackened, position of the Chief Magistrate of the land.
If Rene Corona a thick face, corrupt and no morale CJ is acquitted then P-Noy’s drive to go after the corrupt officials will be hindered. If he was a Japanese, he could have committed the Harakire or at least do a Mercy (Gutierrez) resign to preserve morality and decency at least for his family’s sake. What he has done with the Basas is unacceptable.
Thank you Mr. Montelibano for your article. God bless you and may God save this country.
Corona’s case may just be the beginning of a government clean up” We hear so many corrupt practices by so many public officials but nothing is done about it. So many of them are able to “get away with it”
Pnoy needs to harden up, and if necessary, rule with an iron fist. The whole world is watching what is going to happen next after the “dramatic” trial. A conviction is the cry of the majority of the Filipino people.
Like I said before, this impeachment trial may just be the catalyst that our country need to get the ball rolling if we are truly interested in wiping out the number one disease that have kept our country from moving forward. It’s been a long time coming, but are prepared for what we have to sacrifice to obtain this goal? We must also remember that corruption have been a permanent fixture in our culture, it exist in every walks of life, from the rich and the powerful and sometimes even the poorest of the poor. The business of politics, especially in our country is a very profitable profession, you will be hard press to find any of our country’s elected officials to be on the poor side of town. Getting rid of corruption and the people who practice it will be very difficult indeed, it’s almost equivalent to either a chronic alcoholic or a hard line drug addict. It’s a habit that a lot of people, especially in our system of government that are willing to give up very easily. On a positive note, I guess we have to start somewhere and since our government have become a haven for this type of activities we should start from there.
My utmost admiration to Mr Montelibano’s commentary. A classic clear-case of intellectual writing that portrays in sensational detail why it is in the interest of the Filipino people that Mr Corona be impeached and removed from the pinnacle of leadership in the third branch of government.
Given the enormity of spent resources by the country in this historic impeachment, he must not be allowed to retire nor to resign; the impeachment court must cast a verdict for reasons beneficial for the country—to give credibility and deserved honor to the Supreme Court of the country, and to give notice to many corrupt and impeacheable officials in the country to make ammends and to serve the people honestly and judiciously.
Rene Corona’s case should be wrapped up now. With his behavior, he is not fit to become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. To the senators cuddling/protecting him, your days are numbered, coming election we know who are fit to earn the trust of the people. It’s long overdue that our goverment should send corrupt leaders to jail. In other countries, he is already languishing in jail or worse executed in public.
The latest news now is that he’s finally back in court and supposedly had signed an unconditional waiver for the court to examine his bank accounts. He also admitted having just a little more than two million dollars in his dollar accounts and eighty million pesos in his peso accounts. What I don’t understand was the statement that was made by one of the prosecutors. He stated that they don’t really need the waiver anymore because Corona already admitted having a dollar account, but then another member of the prosecution team said that his admission does’nt really change anything. The real content of those accounts must still be reveal. Things seems to be getting a little fishy now that Corona admitted to having those dollars accounts. Let’s hope those Senator Judges will still consider the Ombudsman’s testimony, now that he signed a waiver, they must examine all of his bank accounts, whether there’s one or four or even eighty two it must be verified.
WELL SAID, NOAH CRISOLOGO. IN ADDITION, the impeachment court must cast its verdict before Mr Corona can retire. This is to identify his ally-senators and to bring them to justice as well, come election day. Considering Mr Corona’s latest masterful theatrics, my instincts dictate we hold all our breathe—iyong madaling maawa, iyong madaling madaya are controversial attributes in the Filipino psyche.
Tama si Philip. Ang tanging lunas sa sakit ng bayan ay Martial Law. Pero Martial Law na may Puso. Kamay na bakal na may Puso…di tulad nung nakaraan martial law na alam nyo na kung anong nangyaring kabulastugan, pagpatay sa mga inosente at walang pakundangang pagnanakaw ng kwarta ng bayan..
Thank you, Joe M., for your usual elegant pen. You put it in character and it resonates very well with all thinking Filipinos. This shameless episode featuring the highest magistrate of the land is fraught with so much symbolism. As the world watches with interest on how Filipinos will deal with corruption in the highest places of gov ‘t, we can only pray that nothing untoward happens to the nation ‘s leadership at this critical point. Corona underestimates the intelligence of the people. Any senator who will make the wrong decision in this case will go down in history as unpatriotic in the face of overwhelming public outcry. It is time for Juan dela Cruz to clean up. Mabuhay kayo, Joe M. and Pangulong Noynoy! Nasa likod ninyo ang taong bayan!