COMMENTARY | Our politics in the Philippines is not really
“that very strong” compared to other countries. You know why? Our politicians
are more on politicking rather than on sticking to the main issues in order for
the political problem in our country to get finally resolved. There are lots of reasons why we
have experienced the low self-esteem politics' profile.
Besides, Corona's impeachment trial is a
definite no-no by a number of Filipinos as it brings chaos among the citizens,
most particularly to the officials representing the three branches of
government.
The ongoing impeachment trial has, in fact,
accumulated the highlighted statements and salient points to take into account:
1) The prosecution had requested to subpoena the
financial records of the Supreme Court to prove that Corona used public funds
for his personal gain;
2) A lawmaker pointed out that the allegation
that the chief justice dipped into the judicial funds for personal use is
included in the body of Article III;
3) President Benigno Aquino III said that he was
satisfied with the performance of the House prosecution panel in the
impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona;
4) Corona is seeking the inhibition of SC
justices Antonio Carpio and Maria Lourdes Sereno from the deliberation of his
petition;
5) Farinas, when asked by Jinggoy Estrada's
inquiry on why he did not sign the impeachment complaint, added that he is a
slow reader and was not yet finished reading the complaint when the House of
Representatives successfully collected enough number of signatures to impeach
Corona; and
6) The impeachment trial against Corona is a
serious internal political affair and must be resolved by the Philippines alone.
We can't deny that our politics seems not fully
ripe because of the political system. It's the system that never alters since
the time immemorial.
Most of us like traditional politicians ride
only on the ship with much-awaited fame and glory; despite the fact, it ruins
the entire system and, at the same time, it gives shame to the people who take
advantage of our system.
The impeachment trial is the result of political
system. The word SYSTEM gives us the acronym to delineate its ulterior motive
to the Filipino people in general. It is up for us now to resolve this
deeply-rooted problem at once.
Let's attempt to hear some voices of the people
about impeachment trial and give them utmost importance as far as the president
of the Philippines and Chief Justice Renato Corona are concerned. Most of their
comments when interviewed by the local reporters were:
1st Commenter: "The president and
the senators, including their allies are doing their job to prosecute the
accused. If Corona thinks he is very innocent, he must present it with evidence
in the senate as impeachment body. The president made his right decision to
punish the guilty. I hope the senators who act as judges on impeachment trial
will resolve the case right away and find ways to judge not by technicality but
by evidence presented by both parties so that we can assess beforehand that
trial is really great and it should be dealt with the people who are guilty of
such crimes. I won't conclude that Corona is guilty unless he can clear his
name out by presenting much evidence to counteract the allegations hurled
against him by the prosecutors on the government side. Let's uncover the
concealed truth so that the public may know the real truth behind it."
2nd Commenter: "Let the prosecution
panel and the 188 congressmen who signed the impeachment complaint against
Corona open their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) to the
public so we may know who, among them, are serving the people with honesty and
sincerity; in other words, these people must have the integrity to handle such
positions without politically tarnishing them. The truth should come out fairly
and should prevail over bad publicity or character assassination. We don't know
that these people are more corrupt than Corona. As the saying goes, ‘Let the
one who has not sinned cast the first stone.' Remember about yourself first,
before you point your finger, your other fingers are pointing at you, or that
before you point your finger to others, make sure your hands are clean. Don't
pretend that you're clean without even resorting to graft or bad practices. And
don't judge anybody right away if you are not certain of something behind the
bad scene. The law said 'A person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.' We
should not be swayed by our blind emotions and, to know the truth, we should be
keen at observing the flow of impeachment trial in order to arrive at final
judgment with honest and credible impeachment trial against Corona."
3rd Commenter: "Let us not judge
CJ Corona before the impeachment trial is finished. He has no 'pork barrel’
unlike some congressmen and senators, who are tagged as CORRUPT and DISHONEST
public officials ... getting rich on their public funds, have the pork barrel.
Those officials, who are not performing well and who are claiming that they are
clean, do not have the right to prematurely judge Corona and point a finger at
him. Tell me, who among the Congressmen and Senators do not have millions or
billions in their bank accounts? Why don't they resign first and open their
bank accounts to public scrutiny, and submit their SALN and ITR for public
examination? Let us see who the big time corrupt public officials are really
unworthy of public trust. Let us not be blinded by our emotion and trial by
publicity. Let justice be served fair and square. Let rationalization prevail
in this trial. For all we know the accusers are more guilty than the
accused."
Finally, there are pros and cons of the
controversial issue about impeachment trial in the Philippines. No foreigners
will intervene so as to come by the real truth about it. The statement coming
from the foreign observer like "The impeachment trial against Corona is
a serious internal political affair and must be resolved by the Philippines
alone" is correct and neutral because it cushions the impact of sui
generis politics that we have in the Philippines. The Filipinos are the only
ones who can at once resolve the political conflicts among the branches of
government without inviting the foreigners to intervene or actively take part
in impeachment trial. In the end, the truth will gradually set us free if we
are innocent of the charges filed or charged against us.
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