Looking at the wider perspective

One of our readers sent us a highly emotional e-mail graphically conveying her outrage over the “billions of pesos that have gone up in smoke” because of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam and now, the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) that has been thumbed down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. I told the reader to calm down and not get hysterical and consider looking at the situation not through myopic eyes but in a wider perspective. No doubt the current situation leaves much to be desired, but there are developments that keep Filipinos optimistic. For one, the recent credit rating upgrade from Japan-based R&I that raised the Philippines’ investment grade of BBB- to BBB with a stable outlook.

The rating agency took note of the country’s sound macroeconomic fundamentals and the legislative and administrative reforms that helped enhance the country’s investment climate. The R&I upgrade came on the heels of the credit rating upgrade by Standard and Poor’s last month which gave the Philippines a BBB rating with a stable outlook — believing that the ongoing reforms will endure until the next administration. 

The pork scam was exposed and the current situation is an indication that democracy is at work. It is mind boggling to see one of the most powerful men in the country today — Senator Juan Ponce Enrile — surrendering to the Philippine National Police after a warrant of arrest was issued by the Sandiganbayan. Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla are also in detention facing graft and plunder charges. Like Enrile, they are submitting themselves to the rule of law, letting due process take its course. Enrile for his part says he believes that justice will prevail — which is certainly the right perspective to take under the circumstances.

Not that anyone wants to gloat or wishes anyone ill but, despite the appeal for compassion, former Enrile chief of staff Gigi Reyes could not believe what she was experiencing when she was brought to the Bicutan detention center, with conditions that many ordinary Filipinos go through everyday not only in jail but even in their own homes — no air conditioning, cramped quarters, crawling insects and vermin and one small bathroom that has to be shared with a dozen others. Gigi Reyes was once so powerful — she was known as the “25th senator.”

The DAP and PDAF issues are displaying the kind of power that social media can play in shaping perceptions and public opinion. Nowadays, all it takes is a tweet, a post or a meme for an issue to take a life of its own like what happened to the pork barrel scandals – putting those in government under notice that they can no longer hide what’s going on. The Internet has given the people a voice of their own, at times resonating even louder than the mainstream media. Some even assert that social media is now the fifth estate that has become even more influential than the fourth estate.

There are now significant signs that the Judiciary is more independent — dispelling fears that the Supreme Court has become subordinated to Malacañang – when the magistrates unanimously ruled that the DAP is unconstitutional. After all, the Chief Justice and a number of associate justices were appointed by President Aquino, and the long standing perception is that appointees are usually beholden to the one who appointed them.

When Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno was first appointed to the Supreme Court — she thanked the President and as a courtesy asked him if there was anything he specifically wanted her to do. His answer: “Just do what is right.” Clearly, the DAP ruling should serve as clear proof of what is right.

Indeed, what is happening today should be viewed as a watershed moment that can have a lasting impact on our maturity as a people because it underscores the critical need for checks and balances, making sure that the mechanisms we have in place are working, and that the doctrine of separation of powers between the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial branches as enshrined in the Constitution is observed.

Such was the case with the United States in 1973 at the height of the Watergate scandal when a constitutional crisis almost occurred because President Richard Nixon — citing executive privilege — refused to turnover audiotapes and documents relating to the June 17, 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Senate Watergate Committee chair Senator Sam Ervin argued that the committee was exercising the constitutional power of the Senate to conduct the investigation and that the doctrine of the separation of powers of government requires Nixon to recognize such. In a separate case, the US Supreme Court also ruled unanimously that Nixon must surrender the tapes.

Nixon complied — and the tapes revealed his participation in the plans to cover up the White House connection with the Watergate break-in. Just before the House could vote on the articles of impeachment, Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974. Although many looked at Watergate as one of the worst of times displaying the excesses of Nixon’s imperial government, eventually Americans saw it as proof that their system worked, and that the rule of law prevailed. As Gerald Ford (who assumed the presidency after Nixon’s resignation) said, “Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men.”

They say that every dark cloud has a silver lining. The unfolding events of late only prove that transparency in government and social media can work hand-in-hand — telling us that everyone, regardless of political power — will ultimately fall under the rule of law. 

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