What? Another impeachment?

Less than a month after the successful conclusion of former Chief Justice Renato Corona’s impeachment trial, here comes a militant group saying they will file an impeachment complaint against President Aquino. While the Palace spokesperson said the president is ready to face any possible impeachment complaint, even daring the group to go ahead — he simultaneously dismissed the potential complaint as a sham.

In Congress, Speaker Sonny Belmonte had earlier said they will most likely junk the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo, but it looks like some parties are still seriously mulling the revival of the issue when Congress resumes session next month.

We are told that the renewed interest in the Del Castillo impeach complaint may have been triggered by the nomination of former UP Law School Dean and current peace panel head Marvic Leonen for the position of Chief Justice — since it was Leonen who accused Justice Del Castillo of plagiarizing certain parts of his decision on an appeal made by World War II Filipino comfort women for compensation from the Japanese government.

Several lawyers told us plagiarism per se is not an impeachable offense and does not constitute any culpable violation of the Constitution. In the first place, it’s not even considered a crime, they said, although Justice Del Castillo could be given administrative sanctions if it is later proven that he deliberately omitted attribution for the portions that he “borrowed” in rendering his decision.

While the impeachment process has been finally proven to work and is a good deterrent for those who think they are sacred cows, many people generally have grown a bit weary and just want our legislators to move quickly and address pressing issues that had to be put in the backburner while the impeachment trial was ongoing. Half the year is gone and before we know it, Christmas is here and shortly thereafter the 2013 senatorial campaign goes into high gear.

Among the top priorities is the Reproductive Health bill that will most likely be passed this August, while the Divorce bill might have to be sidelined because it’s too controversial even if two of our younger senators are in the midst of their own marriage woes. The Catholic Church will violently protest it, including wives who have an axe to grind against their husbands, wanting to get the “better half” of the conjugal wealth. Many advocates however favor a Divorce bill that is similar to the California divorce law that favors the wife. It goes without saying that the proposed bill will surely face rough sailing just like the RH bill which, despite what critics say, is urgently needed considering that the country’s poverty levels have rapidly risen due to the ever growing population.

While there are those who refuse to see things rationally, there is no denying that population management continues to be a serious concern, as seen every school year opening where we encounter the same problems about classroom shortage, lack of teachers, inadequate facilities, not enough books, etc. ­— and it just keeps getting worse every year. Either we do something today, or we suffer the same fate as the countries with huge populations despite their economy growing rapidly — as their governments increasingly still find it very difficult to bring down poverty levels and provide basic education. Education is the only ticket out of poverty and for people to survive this cruel world.

Some Cabinet officials have admitted that they were also distracted by the Corona impeachment. The implementation of a number of critical projects, especially on infrastructure, were either delayed or put on hold, but now they can get back to work and attend to a lot of pressing matters. The Department of Transportation and Communications under Mar Roxas is on high gear with the planned improvement/expansion/development of seven provincial airports which could open up more jobs and boost the economy both on the local and national level. But most of all, these infra projects will complement the initiatives of the Department of Tourism to attract more foreign visitors into the country, not to mention encourage local tourism and give more Filipinos the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of their own country.

Let’s face it, we still have a long way to go in alleviating poverty levels, increasing employment opportunities and other serious issues that need to be addressed both on the domestic and foreign front, like the continuing standoff with China over Scarborough Shoal. The problem sometimes is that Filipinos tend to go overboard when they know they have a good thing going. The success of the EDSA People Power Revolution for instance gave the Philippines worldwide acclaim but EDSA II was an entirely different story — condemned by the Western press as “mob rule.”

A successful impeachment trial has misled some congressmen into thinking we should do it again to enable the President to appoint another SC Justice to take the place of Del Castillo. That will really make people start to believe that the Palace is really out to control the Judiciary. It was done once supported by the majority — but let’s not overdo it — we may really outdo ourselves this time. What is important is that the message is clear: Anyone in government from the President down to the lowest clerk can be removed by a mechanism following the rule of law. The time is ripe for people to see the “promises of reform” becoming “tangible realities,” now that P-Noy has been given the opportunity to appoint a new Chief Justice with impeccable integrity who can keep this country going towards the “straight and narrow path.”

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