China ranting denotes Phl diplomatic victory

Impeachment prosecution spokesman Rep. Romero Quimbo must have foreseen the outcome of last Monday’s hearing. So confident was he that prosecutors would be able to show “a pattern of dishonesty” of Chief Justice Renato Corona. So much so that before it started he already announced that they might rest their case after presenting evidence in only the first three of eight articles of impeachment.

The trial did turn out in the prosecution’s favor. Subpoenaed were deeds of sale and payment receipts for three condos and a lot in The Fort, Taguig, and Ayala Avenue, Makati — all in the name of Corona and wife. Juxtaposed with earlier extracted statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) and income tax returns (ITRs), one discrepancy stood out: their combined income in 2001-2010 was much less than their assets.

The prosecution was debarred from adducing to the count of graft, due to vague wording in Impeachment Article II. But proof supposedly was overwhelming of the two other counts against Corona: culpable violation of the Constitution and (the catchall rap) betrayal of public trust. These are for false declaration and non-disclosure of SALNs. Had the senator-judges voted then, a congressman raved, it would have been for conviction.

Corona’s counsels didn’t sound too happy. In and outside the courtroom, they were reduced to the so-called peanut-butter defense. That is, spread the guilt around, with such lines like all government men lie in their ITRs and SALNs. Or, that they usually put condos in someone else’s name to conceal the purchase. And, that those among them who command it routinely accept condo price discounts of 15 or 40 percent. So it matters not that anti-graft laws forbid such acts.

But the defense has yet to argue its case. It only looks defeated now because of the realities of its situation. Hampering it is human nature that first (public) impressions last. Going by their timetable, prosecutors will next strive to prove Articles III and VII. These are about Corona’s purported excessive entanglement with ex-President Arroyo, discussing pending Supreme Court cases with litigants, and partiality in letting her elude serious criminal charges. If Quimbo’s idea is carried, the prosecutors would stop there. And only then could the defense go on the offensive.

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China’s Global Times was particularly shrill against the Philippines this week. In its editorial, it called for “punishment” of the country for leaning towards America in its defense needs. The piece was entitled, “Make Philippines Pay for Balancing Act.” For the English-language paper, “balancing” means siding with the US to foil China’s military designs in the South China Sea. It treats this as unacceptable “creating (of) military tensions” in the region. For this, the Philippines should be taught a lesson.

What got the Global Times’s goat was the ongoing bilateral dialogue between Manila and Washington. The two long-time allies have agreed so far to expand US military role in Philippine defense. This would entail more joint military exercises in Philippine territorial seas, and regular though temporary surveillance flights and patrols. The agreement comes in the wake of China’s 2009 unilateral declaration of ownership of the entire South China Sea, including traditional Philippine waters. With decrepit naval and air fleets, the Philippines is hard-pressed to defend its borders. Meantime, China has been driving out Filipino fishers and scientists from the oil-rich Recto (Reed) Bank and shoals internationally recognized as Philippine owned.

For getting close to its former colonizer, the Philippines must be punished with sanctions. Two were suggested: directly cutting economic activity between Beijing and Manila, and flexing economic muscle to make ASEAN allies abandon the Philippines.

The Global Times is the international auxiliary of the People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist Party’s official organ. Its opinion pieces patently are jingoist. While maintaining some distance, analysts believe, Beijing’s top leaders tolerate control of Global Times by the Party’s growing hard-liners.

Global Times’s strident stance towards the Philippines betrays China’s defeat in the diplomatic field. Failing to subjugate Manila with its unilateral sea claim, it is employing threats of economic pummeling. Manila has brought to the UN, the ASEAN, the European Council, and Japan the provocative acts of Beijing. All have reacted sympathetically. The US has reiterated its readiness to defend the Philippines under a 50-year-old pact, in case of Chinese invasion.

Beijing’s official reaction to the Philippines-US defense talks is to call for closer dialogue between Asians. Manila in turn has vowed to engage China positively. But via Global Times, China undiplomatically is talking through the side of its mouth about economic sanctions.

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Senator-Judge Miriam Defensor Santiago’s blood pressure shot up Thursday from hyperventilating at the impeachment trial. Freely tongue-lashing the prosecutors was simply too laborious for her. Sent off to rest, she underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Whereupon she announced over national radio, “There is nothing wrong with my brain, contrary to the impression of my enemies.” She then went on to berate congressmen who were decrying her humiliation of them.

Lest Her Honor mislead the public, medical experts clarify: only very rarely are brain defects detected by MRI, like when tumors cause behavioral changes. Most pathological behavioral disorders need expert psychiatric evaluation, they say.

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