The tragedy that Sendong wrought upon our affected countrymen is a mixed tale of horrendous catastrophe, on one hand and distinguished heroism, on the other and in between a president allegedly partying in the midst of his peoples’ pain. This chapter of our history that Sendong authored thus deserves everyone’s continued attention that we shall strengthen our core values from its dire lesson.
It is upon this thesis that, ironically, I do not get swayed to write about the recent calamity. Rather, I compose this article today, in spite of the seemingly irresistible topic called Sendong because there is one issue, equally important to me for our core values, that is on the brink of getting swept by the tears of our traumatized countrymen.
Please bear with me. Atty. Democrito Barcenas was probably among the very first few Cebuano personalities who came out into the open and stood up to be counted as supporting the candidacy of then Sen. Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III, for the presidency of this country. I remember him asking me, in a chance meeting, to give a hand too, but I politely turned his invitation down for an admittedly less nationalistic reason. Mocring was selfless in his support for his presidential bet that I had to doff my hat to him.
It was thus understandable that last week, Atty. Barcenas, just as Sendong was gathering its strength, spearheaded another campaign. This time, it was to ask the people to continue supporting his president, our president, in a crucial battle with no less than the Chief Justice on the opposite side of the conflict.
In a portion of the resolution of support that was published, I noticed a disturbing line, however. That document revealed, to me, at least, the rationale of the hitherto unannounced presidential battle plan. Accordingly, the president has found the chief magistrate as a stumbling block in the fight against graft and corruption. In so many words, it showed that the prosecution against former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was somehow getting waylaid. The culprit, by juxtaposition, was no less than the chief justice himself.
From that line of thought, let us mark certain propositions: (a) that the former president should be prosecuted for all the acts of graft and corruption she allegedly committed during her administration; (b) to make this effort easier, Chief Justice Renato Corona, must be removed from his exalted position of influence.
Let me highlight the second proposition. There is now an article of impeachment lodged with the Senate for the ouster of the chief justice. Behind all the specified charges is the unwritten assumption that Corona is the protector of Arroyo, such that the efforts of the government to run after her have been, thus far, stymied. The entombment of the Truth Commission and the TRO against the warrants for the arrest of the former first couple are mentioned every now and then. Therefore, the direction should be to take the chief justice out of the equation for the administration to get to the former president.
This reasoning keeps me focused on the impeachment complaint instead of writing on Sendong. We must remember that the preceding congress refused, not just once, to impeach former Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Our former Cebu City North representative defended Arroyo. He voted against impeaching Arroyo. He protected her. In effect, he said then that Arroyo was not guilty of the many charges leveled against her.
Yet, let me go back to the reasoning of this impeachment complaint against the chief justice. Congress wants the chief justice kicked out of the Supreme Court so that he will no longer act as the protector of Arroyo. This is also the position of our congresswoman. She was one of those who affixed her signature in a rush to impeach Corona. Our neophyte lady legislator, the daughter of our former congressman, by joining the group that seeks to oust the chief justice, makes her father a liar, if not a protector of a corrupt regime.
I am sure the family of our lawmaker will attempt to downplay this thought but the action of the daughter shatters the character of the father in a manner that is more dreadful than the devastation caused by Sendong.