EDITORIAL - Reduced to tears

Alberto Agra, in the brief period during which he will serve as justice secretary in an acting capacity, has managed to gain the kind of notoriety that is hard to ever live down. He will always be remembered as the justice chief who dismissed criminal charges that are already in court.

His move might have escaped public attention in this busy election period if the case did not involve one of the most heinous crimes in the country’s history, and the most atrocious case of election violence. Relatives and friends of the 57 people massacred in Maguindanao on Nov. 23 last year have wondered whether justice is possible under the watch of President Arroyo, a staunch ally of former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., patriarch of the clan that now stands accused of conspiracy in perpetrating the mass murder. Agra’s resolution dismissing the multiple murder charges against Ampatuan’s son Zaldy and another member of the clan – charges that are already in court – can only reinforce the fears of the victims’ heirs.

Amid the resulting flak, Agra said the stress on his family reduced him to tears during a visit to the New Bilibid Prisons. Those who know they are doing right simply laugh off criticism; the ones who are reduced to tears are those who know that their acts are indefensible.

Until yesterday, Agra continued to defend his resolution, brushing aside speculation that he simply did the bidding of his boss the President. He also denied rumors that he issued the resolution after a purported payoff involving his predecessor Agnes Devanadera, who is running for a congressional seat. Yesterday, Malacañang said it had ordered Agra to submit weekly reports on the status of the massacre case.

Agra is currently reviewing a motion for reconsideration of his resolution, which could lead to his disbarment. Until shortly before noon of June 30, he should have nothing to worry about. Many bizarre precedents are being set in the justice system in the final months of the Arroyo administration. It isn’t unlikely that if Agra’s resolution is challenged all the way up to the nation’s highest tribunal, his move will be upheld by the Arroyo Supreme Court.