Grand jury

Maybe by the time this column comes out the impeachment court shall have made its decision on the case against Chief Justice Renato Corona.

The oral arguments last Monday were precise and convincing and both panels can be lauded for their intelligent discussions.

To us the arguments and the decision of the Senate, though eagerly awaited will have far reaching impact not on the Senate per se but on all public officials, especially politicians, and in particular, the congressmen and the senators who are up for reelection.

The case now goes into the grand jury of the public square where the People’s Tribunal will make the decisions through the exercise of the rights of suffrage.

In fact, the implications of the decision will have great influence in the presidency of Benigno Aquino and more so before the bar of history where all public figures must eventually be judged.

The most important argument of the prosecution can be used against the incumbents, especially those politicians in the prosecution panel who will, after this Corona case is terminated, will now and before the People’s Tribunal and argue in front of the grand jury composed of their electorates and, probably have to use the arguments of Corona’s defense to defend themselves.

That would be an ironic twist if the politicians in the prosecution and their followers, including Malacanang have to say that their dollar deposits need not be declared in their SALN because of the absolute confidentiality of these deposits.

Of particular interest, for instance, is Iloilo Congressman Neil Tupas who will have to defend, if ever, why he will not publish or reveal the contents of his SALN and bank accounts when his panel eloquently considers it a “grave crime” or “high crime” enough to impeach the Chief Justice.

The arguments then can become a ghost that will haunt our politicians whichever way the decision goes.

One aspect, for example, is the speed with which the impeachment charge was passed by the House of Representative which was akin to a speeding train that can be used in the future in the event the President controls the number in the House.

Whether one is for or against Corona, there is validity in his warning that what happened to him and his family is sending a “chilling effect” on the members of the judiciary – an executive can use the awesome powers of the government to intimidate or even eliminate those who stand against the purposes of the President.

We have had our share of this “chilling effect” during Martial Law when the powers of government was consolidated in the hands of President Marcos that even the Supreme Court had to take a lot of pains to stretch the interpretation of the Constitution to justify the authoritarian regime.

In this case of Martial Law when government was intimidated to decide in favor of those in power, the case was eventually taken before the grand jury of the people that rose in revolt at EDSA in 1986.

This is the danger of our system. When the government becomes so powerful so as to send a message that it will wipe out those that oppose it, then we are all “chilled “into submission.

Many scoffed at the resort to technicalities by the Corona defense panel because “people do not understand it.” That may be so, but our system of government is a bundle of technicalities that to set these aside can result in chaos.

True the impeachment trial is a political act of the elected representatives of the people but people are also not dumb as to think that the technicalities of the law can be ignored. This posture of the prosecution lays the foundation of future problems for whoever sits in Malacannang or the constitutional commissions.

A hostile Congress can also run roughshod over the President and decide by ignoring legal technicalities. The history of the world is full of examples of this tragic situation.

No matter how the decision will go, the Philippines will never be the same again. When President Estrada was impeached, the nation was divided. It was aborted by the revolt led of Gloria Arroyo with the collaboration of the Armed Forces and the Supreme Court. The people hailed this constitutional coup but from the frying pan we ended up in a fire of unbridled corruption.

That Estrada case had no closure but the grand jury of the people put an end to the issue – millions still support Erap and his children, and at one time his wife and son, were elected to the Senate hands down.

The Corona case can therefore be decided in the polls. The voting will show whether or not the people’s grand jury agreed with senators and the congressmen. No matter, the case will continue to haunt us.*

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