Sister Flory Basa has had a mouthful to say against Chief Justice Renato Corona and his wife Cristina, her niece, about family heirlooms and finances. But that is just Sr. Flory talking so I cannot understand why everybody is accepting her side of the story as the gospel truth.
I am not saying Sr. Flory is lying. But her being a nun and 90 years old does not necessarily make her more truthful than those who are not. If that were so, then all of those who may differ with her in opinion may as well be liars.
The truth is what it is. A truth does not become so just because a nun is saying it, or because she may happen to be 90 years old. Conversely, it does not follow that because a person does not wear a habit, or is less advanced in years, he is any less truthful.
Sr. Flory could well be telling the truth. But unless we hear from the Coronas and their version of the story, the picture will never be complete. And those who claim to search for truth would be lying through their teeth if they proclaim having found it already in Sr. Flory.
As I have said so many times, I could not care less if Corona is found guilty in his impeachment trial at the Senate. But the justice we seek in seeking a guilty verdict must be the same justice that allows Corona to defend himself fairly and squarely.
Failing to give Corona due process, whether in the impeachment court or in his family problems, and even before the wider bar of public opinion, will only result in a victory that is hollow and nothing to be proud of or happy about.
Only those who have other agendas outside a genuine quest for truth and justice and those who are truly clueless can feel triumphant in an outcome achieved by any and all means except due process. And I truly feel a genuine concern for those who feel triumphant in this way.
I can see why some people find it acceptable to go after Corona even by the foulest means and that is because it is not their heads on the chopping block. It is not their reputations on the line. Nothing beats detachment to give one a false sense of security.
But as you and I know, all it takes is a first time. If you can chuck Corona into a pickle barrel, what is to prevent anyone from doing the same to you? And when they do, it would look certainly awkward to start demanding for the same rights you deprived Corona.
There is wisdom in the belief that what goes around comes around, that the people you meet going up will be the same people you meet going down. In the conventional wisdom of Joseph Estrada, “ang buhay ay weather-weather lang.”
If we truly value our future and our freedom, there should only be one acceptable outcome in this whole sordid affair about Corona. And it is that whether guilty or innocent, the verdict must come about based on nothing but fact, in a process that respects the rights of all.
Thus, just as it is with the impeachment trial of Corona, so should it be with Sr. Flory and what she has to say, or has been saying. She only has her own version of the story to tell, and neither vocation nor seniority can make up for what has not yet been told by others.
As I said, Sr. Flory could very well be telling the truth. But the time to make that determination is not yet nigh. And until that time is come, the only thing that can be said of her tale is that it is her side of the story.
Sr. Flory has said her piece and that gives everyone a place to start from in their own assessment of Corona. But if we are truly and sincerely in search of truth and not just paying it lip service because we have taken political sides, then let us wait for Corona to air his side.