Final option

As the impeachment trial of SC Chief Justice (CJ) Corona starts, it is now beyond the shadow of any reasonable doubt that this administration and its allies in the Lower House want him to resign more than for him to be removed through the impeachment process. The initiation of the articles of impeachment by the House of Representatives, whether or not properly verified or hasty, is actually a move which they calculated as the most effective weapon to achieve this goal. They believe and hope that, like Ombudsman Gutierrez who resigned before she could be tried in the Senate, Corona will also be forced to “voluntarily” step down rather than face the anxieties, anguish, embarrassments and rigors of a Senate trial.

Hence, even if Corona answered the impeachment complaint and refuted the charges thereby tendering issues already triable by the Senate, they still step up the pressure by airing and exposing alleged anomalies committed by him while in office which is not even part of the impeachment complaint. Specifically, they exposed his and his family members’ alleged acquisition of numerous real estate properties (19, by latest count) obviously beyond his salary as a public official, as well as his allegedly dubious manner of obtaining an academic doctorate in Civil Law.

Undeniably these exposes even if unproven yet, have irreparably damaged Corona’s personal and official reputation as the Chief Magistrate of the highest court of the land. They have blotted the very image of the position he holds and further discredited him as the SC CJ to such extent as to render his continued stay in office untenable without damaging the SC itself. This tactic which was obviously hatched in Malacanang and in the Batasan should have really worked and should have forced Corona to resign. Unfortunately it did not. Hence, expect the exposes and the demolition job on Corona to continue even if the Senate trial is already ongoing.

Apparently Corona felt that he was being pushed to the wall; that he was “forced to good” as the saying goes, leaving him with no other alternative but to fight back. This is a natural human reaction. He has to defend the attacks against his honor which is considered as more valuable than life itself especially when even his loved ones are dragged into the line of fire. His detractors say that, as popularly perceived, he has already lost any semblance of honor which he should, or could defend, due to his own questionable acts and misconduct. Yet precisely because of such belief, he has been left with no other choice except to fight back and prove otherwise. Anybody in his place would have done the same. Resignation will surely be interpreted to mean that the attacks against his honor are true and correct.

The administration’s strategy against Corona is therefore pure and simple coercion: it has been designed primarily to force him to resign but the means employed forced him to fight back. This element of force definitely brings more harm than good to our country. As it is now turning out, we will be dragged into an expensive and draining process both in terms of time, money, effort and emotion because Corona was forced to fight back. If Corona resigned because he was forced to, we would have been spared of the expensive and draining Senate trial. But at this stage that is already out of the question because he has been forced to protect his name and honor.

To be sure, the unfavorable public perception of Corona and the entire judiciary for that matter is not entirely baseless. PNoy and the majority of Filipinos may have reasons to believe that our judiciary really needs reformation by first of all removing the SC CJ whose appointment according to them has been validated by the SC even if it is clearly a midnight appointment in violation of the Constitution. But if Corona has committed some impeachable offenses, why are they still forcing him to resign through trial by publicity instead of just going through the Senate trial? Obviously this tactic only betrays the weakness of their impeachment case.

As a consequence, they have only given grounds for some sectors to ask the SC itself to intervene in the exercise of the latter’s power of judicial review to uphold the supremacy of the Constitution. If this happens, it may lead to an impasse where the Senate will ignore the SC orders thus creating a crippling constitutional crisis that is more damaging. The irony here is that the House prosecutors themselves who have given these grounds for the SC to intervene are warning the SC against meddling in the Senate trial.

And so as Corona goes into the most important and crucial part of his professional life fighting the impeachment case against him, a golden opportunity also presents itself for him to do something noble and patriotic. If he is able to vindicate his name and honor by winning this legal battle, he could also consider another option of relinquishing his position as CJ. In this way, he can save the SC from further damage as an institution, while at the same time basking in the glory of his victory.

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Attention all UST High School Alumni based anywhere in the world and belonging to batches from the 1940s up to last year. There will be a grand alumni homecoming on February 4, 2012, from 5pm onwards at the UST Plaza Mayor and Benavides Garden right in front of the UST Main Building. Get high with UST High by attending this biggest homecoming which coincides with the conclusion of UST’s 400^th anniversary celebration. Tickets are available at the SM Cinemas box offices nationwide. See you all there!