Contempt

A few hours before President Aquino was due to deliver his “national address” last Monday, I was with a group of friends speculating on what he might say.

One half-jokingly asked if he might impose martial rule, considering the rut he finds himself in.

Unlikely as it was, the proposition was given the benefit of a discussion. In the end, everyone agreed he did not have the mental toughness, the political willfulness and, most important, the work ethic to pull off something like that.

What was more likely, everyone agreed, is that he will try to bully the Supreme Court using national television. The most important thing for Aquino at the moment is to win a reversal of the unanimous ruling on the unconstitutionality of the “disbursement acceleration program.” That ruling provides the predicate for a Pandora’s Box of problems ranging from a slew of cases arguing technical malversation to outright impeachment.

In the days before, there were many indications the Supreme Court is targeted for attack. The COA leaked a somewhat derogatory audit on the use of the Judicial Development Fund (JDF). The President’s loyal lapdog at the House prepared a bill seeking to recast the JDF or even take it out altogether, stripping the judiciary of its constitutionally-guaranteed fiscal autonomy.

The most reliable indicator the Court was to be set up for a campaign of vilification was the chatter of the Palace-hired trolls who stalk the reader feedback sections of online media. Spewing slander against the justices, it was obvious the trolls were given their marching orders: defend DAP and destroy all those who say it is unconstitutional (which should be about 99% of commentators on mainstream media and virtually all lawyers).

True enough, the President’s speech targeted the High Court. Unsurprised by the thrust of that speech, our jaws dropped nevertheless at the crudeness of the language used and the sheer unsophistication of the discourse.

We expected some aggressive verbosity intending to soften the High Court as the administration prepares its motion for reconsideration. No one expected Aquino would issue a thinly veiled threat of impeaching the justices.

He warned the Court against causing a battle between the judiciary and the executive, saying such will have to be settled by the third branch of government. That could mean nothing more than impeachment, the only weapon the legislative branch has on its hands.

Palace courtiers, in the wake of this destructive speech, tried to belatedly soften what was said. The President, they claim, was not threatening the justices. Again, the Palace courtiers lie.

The Supreme Court issued no comment on the speech, as was proper. The Court has its majesty to conserve even if the President’s remarks, including the suggestion of judicial incompetence, were outright contemptuous. Unlike the two other (more banal) branches of government, the Court has the power to hold its detractors in contempt.

It was befitting for the justices to maintain silence in the face of attack. Tradition dictates they speak only through their rulings.

It is always sagacious to ignore the ranting of the village fool. Or maybe, as Clint Eastwood put it in the movie Dirty Harry, the silence really means: “Go ahead, punk. Make my day!”

The Court may not be infallible, but its word is final.

Crisis?

In the wake of the President’s address, there are now dire warnings of a looming constitutional crisis, a war between the independent branches of government. Such a war could end the constitutional order and open the door to a new regime arrangement.

Not everyone is unhappy with that prospect. The 1987 Constitution, sloppy to begin with, made itself immune to revision. Only a major regime breakdown might produce a more workable constitutional order.

Not everyone, however, is alarmed by the possible descent into constitutional chaos. Aquino, one friend reminds our discussion group, talks more than he does. He tries to bully with his mouth, but is incapable of cohesive action.

Recall that SONA where he boldly declared any trespass on Recto Bank will be treated as a trespass on Recto Avenue? Since then, properly provoked, Chinese forces have effectively occupied Scarborough Shoal and are now building military facilities on several contested reefs where oil and gas deposits have been confirmed. Aquino proved incapable of deterring the incursions and annexations.

Expect Aquino to fall very short of his words in this fight he picks with the Supreme Court. His only reliable force is that army of trolls who attack under the cowardly cover of anonymity and promptly disband when they are not paid. The Court, on the other hand, has the lasting legal order to bank on.

Aquino may imagine he has the legislators like puppets on strings. At some point soon, he will realize those strings consist of the PDAF and the DAP. Those strings were cut by the Supreme Court rulings.

Although everyone expects Aquino to fail in this unworthy crusade against the rule of law, driven by arrogance and nothing much else, this fracas will not be without cost. The more futile his position becomes, the more fruitless his tactics will be. There will be purposeless destruction.

Remember this is the son of a former president who chose to march against her own Senate even when it was clear there will never be enough votes in that chamber to extend the stay of US bases. In that futile but polarizing episode, she was incapably assisted by her executive secretary, a man named Franklin Drilon.

Among so many things, our country also seems cursed by genetics.