Seeing that justice is served

The recent boxing bout between Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and Juan Miguel Marguez turned everyone into a boxing analyst.

Meanwhile, the legal tussle between the Supreme Court and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and between President Aquino and former President GMA converted most observers into constitutional experts and political analysts.

Filipinos love telenovelas and reality television. In fact, many found themselves glued in watching the Arroyo airport drama.

The best is yet to come.

Some people have likened the alleged mad dash to the airport of GMA and former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo Tuesday night to that of Bonnie and Clyde’s sprint to evade pursuing lawmen. They cannot understand why the urgency to leave the country. They just want the Arroyos to face up to the high crimes they are being accused of.

Already, there are calls for People Power to stop the Arroyos from leaving the country. They tried Tuesday night to board a flight for Hong Kong and would have been successful in that had De Lima not ordered immigration and other airport officials to continue enforcing the watchlist order against them.

De Lima said the watchlist order stays pending the government receipt of the SC-issued temporary restraining order (TRO) and pending the filing of its motion for reconsideration by the Office of the Solicitor General.

To the ordinary Filipino, the Aquino administration is showing great political will in ensuring that the Arroyos will be here in the country to face the plunder, graft and corruption and electoral sabotage charges against them.

The attempts to stop the Arroyos from leaving do not mean that they have already been adjudged guilty of anything. People just want them to just face up to the accusations like what former President Estrada did.

It will be recalled that Erap was given the option the leave the country and go into exile, yet he did not leave and instead chose to spend time in jail fighting the charges against him.

The point is that the Arroyos cannot expect sympathy from the public when all of the signals they are sending point to the possibility of their never returning again to the Philippines to face the charges against them.

For one, why are they going to non-extradition countries if not for the very obvious reason that they do not want the long arm of the law to reach them?  

By simultaneously booking six flights out of the country for last Tuesday, the couple further bolstered an already strong public suspicion that their real intention is to evade the many charges that had been filed and will be filed against them in court.

The bookings were made hours before the SC, on a much-debated 8-5 decision, issued a temporary restraining order on the couple’s inclusion in a watch-list order of the DOJ.

That the Arroyos immediately coughed up the P2-million bond required them by the SC also exposed their desperate attempt to leave the Philippines.

The hasty payment of the cash bond also betrayed the Arroyo’s attempt to picture themselves as ordinary citizens being persecuted by the Aquino administration because no ordinary citizen could produce P2 million at a flick of the finger.

The Arroyos are fooling no one because medical specialists share the same position that Mrs. Arroyo’s bone disease is not life-threatening and that it can be treated right here in our country.

In fact, the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) went on record that there are over a hundred local specialists who are very much capable of treating the former president’s condition, contrary to her camp’s claim that there’s none.

Another question being raised is, why is it that Mrs. Arroyo is not getting herself treated in the United States, where some of the best doctors and hospitals are? The answer is simple:  the Philippines has an extradition treaty with the US, where our justice system can reach her.

The lawyers can argue to death the legal points, but what is clear is the overwhelming desire of Filipinos for the ends of justice to be serve.

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