Today we are truly at a crossroads. We can either accept the argument that every Filipino is corrupt and corruption is a part of our culture, and therefore should not punish those who are suspected of having plundered this country. Or, stand fast and together act decisively against this prevailing endless culture of corruption. WHILE WE HAVE TIME.
"We are all against corruption in all its forms. We are, however, recognizing the role of the separation of powers and the existence of the three branches of government. We will defer to the Chief Justice as to how the Supreme Court handles corruption cases within their branch," Secretary Lacierda said in a press briefing.
"Meron tayong sinasabing 'justice delayed is justice denied.' That’s one of the things, one of the reforms that we would like to see happen especially in the area of cases," the Palace official said.
Lacierda's statements came after the Coalition of Filipino Consumers urged Chief Justice Sereno to probe some members of the Court of Appeals who are allegedly selling court decisions. The chief justice countered that the judiciary was already engaged in "serious housecleaning, a painful but necessary process."
The Supreme Court has assigned Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez to investigate the “Napoles” equivalent in the judiciary. So this guy Marquez will take on the role of a Leila de Lima and Conchita Carpio-Morales and has pledged to clean up the judiciary.
There can be no rule of law unless there is an honest judiciary. For example, charging Enrile, Estrada, Revilla etal is done by the executive branch. But their conviction will depend on the judicial system.
As quoted by Elfren Cruz in his article BREAKTHROUGH, “But who is this Midas Marquez? Are we optimistic that he can promptly purge the judiciary of corruption and finally give us an honest and fair judicial process? And what is this Office of the Court Administrator that has been assigned this monumental task? The Court Administrator is in charge of the mechanism for investigating judges and pursuing “appropriate” actions. In the Guidelines on the Functions of the Court Administrator, it states that among the “work attended to by the Office of the Court Administrator” is Judicial discipline of Court of Appeals, lower court justices, judges and personnel. In another portion of the profile, it says: “He {Midas Marquez} now has supervision over all 2,000 justices of the 3rd level courts and judges and 27,000 court personnel across the country, many of them twice his age.”
Marquez has a very interesting written profile that states: “Supreme Court Justices in an unprecedented move, unanimously appointed him the youngest ever Court Administrator with the rank of Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals.”
The only thing known about Marquez is that he was the valiant defender and spokesman of impeached Justice Renato Corona. In fact, in a television interview a few months ago, he was still valiantly defending Corona.
“In the meantime, I have been trying to get a list of all the pending administrative cases filed against judges that are still in the Office of the Court Administrator. I also cannot understand why charges against any citizen is made public but charges against judges are kept secret.
Is the purpose of all this secrecy supposedly to protect the dignity of judges because they could be the subject of nuisance cases? Then what about other officials and other citizens who are also victims of nuisance cases?
I maintain that it is the judiciary that should be held to the highest standards since they are the final arbiter of the law.”
But, there are those who knowingly or unknowingly have made themselves tools of those who want to muddle the issues and want to push the issues of Napoles and the plunderers away from the public eye. There are even those, for their own political and ideological agenda or who simply want publicity, want to make P-Noy and not the corrupt officials of the past administration as propaganda targets.
Transforming Philippine society and institutionalizing the rule of law was never going to be an easy task. But we must never give up on this war on corruption.
I remain confident that this is a war that P-Noy will never give up on. After all, it was his father who once said the Filipino is worth dying for.
But why the urgency?
By this time, six months before the October deadline for candidates to file their certificates of candidacy, we should have a good idea who are running for president. Unfortunately, the situation is as muddled as ever.
This is not good for business decision makers who must now provide for a higher political risk factor to their medium-term plans. That this is happening at a time when our economy seems to be in a take off stage is the sad part of the story. Investors want more certainty. In the meantime, they may put things on hold or go elsewhere.
There was a time when the folks running Mar’s campaign were saying that a P-Noy endorsement would be enough to win the 2016 election for Mar. But that was before the unfortunate issues of Yolanda, Mamasapano and the decrepit MRT 3 were magnified by P-Noy’s critics to damage the President’s credibility and endorsement value.
With the drastic decline in Mar’s voter acceptance now at four percent, even lower than Bongbong’s, it would be suicidal for the Liberal Party to pin their hopes on him as their standard bearer.
So far, it is only Binay who has definitely said he is seeking the presidency. And the only fly in his soup that can ruin his ascent to the Palace is how the judiciary and the Ombudsman will perform their sworn duty.
This cleansing process of the judicial system becomes imperative as the charges against major lawmakers are filed within the next few months. How will the judicial system deal with the charges filed against Senators Enrile, Estrada and Revilla.? And what about other members of the HERMES group like Honasan, Marcos and Sotto?
If the Ombudsman moves fast on the corruption charges against Mayor Junjun Binay and files a case before the Sandiganbayan, that could be the problem for the VP.
Junjun’s mother, former Mayor Elenita already has an outstanding Sandiganbayan case. Additionally, the Ombudsman could also decide quickly on charges brought by a former Makati vice mayor against VP Binay himself.
What Binay has going for him is the slow grind of the country’s judicial system. Until then, everyone, the Binays included, must be presumed innocent under our laws. “Until then” translates to beyond June 2016 and what lies ahead.
A 47 percent satisfaction rating can still allow a determined leader with vision to make the nation swallow bitter pills and push reforms that can be sustained by his successor beyond his term.
What can be done with just 13 months left before the nation picks a new chief executive? A lot, considering the vast powers enjoyed by the Philippine president.
Although P-Noy continues to enjoy better ratings compared with all his predecessors including his late mother, he and his team should avoid being smug. A tumble from 63 to 47 percent can’t be shrugged off, especially by someone whose endorsement power is needed by his political party and preferred successor in 2016.
After all, no one can run a political campaign without money, and politicians are like bloodhounds when it comes to sniffing out who’s got cold ready cash, legit or ill-gotten. So we can expect political realignments to begin as the campaign approaches. All is fair in love, war and politics.
The flitting of political butterflies out of the administration coalition will make it difficult for P-Noy to push reforms particularly in local governments where political kingpins guard their vested interests and preserve the status quo with impressive zeal.
P-Noy can’t limp, battered and bruised, to the finish line; if he wants his legacy and his glory, he must reach it with a sprint, a final burst of energy.
