People’s Court and other bad ideas

The opposition’s idea of a so-called People’s Court to try President GMA, as an alternative to the failed impeachment, apparently won’t be modeled after that tribunal of the same name which tried Japanese war criminals in the country after World War II. The Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders are an even less apt precedent.

But the proponents of the People’s Court want a basically similar approach: a special tribunal to try GMA for betrayal of the public trust, culpable violations of the Constitution and other high crimes and misdemeanors.

We’re told that there are "no details" yet on those "distinguished persons of unquestionable integrity" who will be appointed to the "panel" that will constitute the court. Neither is it clear how the "trial" will be conducted, and what will happen when, as is fully expected, GMA totally ignores this People’s Court.

The most important question, of course, is what coercive power the People’s Court will have to compel attendance or the production of testimonial and documentary evidence or to enforce the judgment of conviction it will likely render. Since this process will essentially be extra-legal, its proponents probably believe that a conviction will so incense the public that something like the Storming of the Bastille will occur to force GMA to leave Malacañang.

Is this scenario realistic? Nah! Forget it. It has about as much chance as that Truth Commission idea had. No one is harboring the illusion that a People’s Court to try GMA will result in anything other than a judgment of guilt on all counts charged. From the viewpoint of the victorious GMA, fresh out of her bruising but triumphant impeachment ordeal, why even bother?

A People’s Court is the opposition’s desperate idea of a kangaroo court, its antidote to the drubbing they got when they chose to participate in an impeachment process which was stacked against them from the very start. To make matters worse, they allowed themselves to be inveigled into accepting and even moving for the approval of those House impeachment rules which specifically prevented them from presenting any evidence until after the House justice committee had found the impeachment complaint sufficient in substance.

Naturally, the majority had absolutely no intention of commencing any kind of investigation into the charges against GMA, much less those stemming from the Garci tapes. But the opposition was fixated on "creeping impeachment," and was thrown off by assurances from some in the majority (later disowned) that any time they reached the magic number of 79, the case would "immediately" be sent to the Senate for trial.

A cursory reading of the impeachment rules would have told the opposition that immediate referral to the Senate was not in the cards. Still, as Rep. Teddy Boy Locsin has noted, the minority turned its attention to looking for an "EDSA 2 Moment" by working on producing the 79 votes. They knew the awesome weapons in the hands of the incumbent, but were confident of their own persuasive powers, and the pressures that could be applied by formidable media magnets like Cory Aquino and the Hyatt Ten.

Well, as we all know, the opposition gambit simply didn’t work. They were reduced to relying on some 23 supposed "turncoats" from the majority who said they would join the pro-impeachment crowd but would only come out in the open if, and only if, the requisite number of 79 were reached.

That should have been a flashing red light to the opposition. These "escrowed" votes, i.e. effective only if victory was assured, were clearly not given by principled statesmen but by confirmed trapos practiced in the black art of political expediency. As it happened, when the President’s "power of the purse" was in full flight, even ostensibly secure votes for impeachment were withdrawn, absent, abroad or otherwise nowhere in sight at the crucial moments.

In sum, there were no 79 votes, there was no "EDSA 2 Moment," there was only the dubious consolation of lambasting the majority before an attentive but disparate crowd which, as we noted in our last column, seems hopelessly divided on ends and, more importantly, means.

The minority can wallow all it wants in public adulation, by continuing to play an essentially tangential role in the Bukluran Para sa Katotohanan. But it should resign itself to the fact that it is not destined to play more than a supporting role. It should cease and desist from any more hare-brained schemes such as a People’s Court, and focus its time and strenuous effort in preparation for a return bout once the one-year bar on another impeachment proceeding is over.

By the way, the reference in our last column to a 900-day waiting period was an obvious misprint. There are, in fact, less than 290 days left to zero hour. Realizing that, there are some far more astute and single-minded members of the House who have eschewed the publicity game and are bent on filing a "stronger" and "more substantial" complaint (words we also heard when the amended complaint was being written). Next time, they swear, they will make sure they are first in the filing line, to head off possible GMA Trojan Horses . . . like Oliver Lozano?

Beyond that, we can expect more spirited debate about the impeachment rules. The minority, with bitter experience as guide, will probably not be suckered into rules which guarantee their failure.

Obviously, the majority party, with a President now unabashedly committed to solidifying the coalition (the buzz is that this imperative has resulted in her being effectively blackmailed by party-mates), will be moving too. As boxing champ Manny Pacquiao knows, return bouts are in constant danger of cancellation.

The minority would be well-advised not to dissipate its energies in doomed misadventures like a People’s Court. It’s got a lot of work to do in the coming months. It should read the real public sentiment, not only what the surveys say, and have a good feel for what’s really important to people. And while it’s at it, it should watch its own backyard. Treachery is afoot, with pork the seductive, irresistible bait.