Justice reserved
The past weeks zipped past, in a surreal blaze, leaving our jaws wide open as we try to grasp the reasons and defense given by friends and acquaintances as they rally behind the ousted Chief Justice.
One thing is clear in these arguments--skipping provisions of the law and letting sleeping dogs lie has seeped into the very soul of many Filipinos, it is unthinkable when somebody challenges these and insists that sleeping dogs can only go on sleeping if they are dogs and not the Chief Justice.
I thus remember a friend’s comment over a decade ago when smoking was prohibited in public places in Davao City.
Friend: Where then can smokers smoke? Me: At home, where there is no roof, where there are no other people regularly passing by.
Friend: And Dabawenyos accepted that? No one protested?
Me: There were token protests by a few, but generally, the ban was obeyed, violators were rounded up.
Dead air. Uncomprehending silence, especially the part where violators were rounded up. For them, that was extreme. For us, there was the law, it has to be followed by all. Law enforcement is only for the poor.
But then... why indeed not.
In history, there was Andres Bonifacio who was leading the Katipuneros against Spanish rule. But then, Emilio Aguinaldo of the oligarchical lineage already had the power and no longer saw any use for fellow revolutionaries who came from the working class, and so... Bonifacio, the Katipunero leader, ended up being meted the death sentence with his brother Procopio for charges that included allowing his men to steal carabaos and other work animals, misspending Katipunan funds, and an intention to surrender to the Spaniards. In short, disgrace.
As if the disgrace of being accused of leading a band of cattle rustlers isn’t enough, upon their capture and eventual trial, Andres and Procopio were placed in a dark cell and starved before they were executed.
Where is this leading to?
Very simple really. The incident involving Andres and Procopio is the beginning of the independent Philippine justice system. What happened to the chief justice now, being ousted for not being qualified in the first place but having a mob defend her because she’s the chief justice and should rightfully be allowed to continue being one (even if she’s not qualified, just because), is but the unraveling of a justice system that has from the very start been corrupted.
It sure took such a long, long time...
No wonder our history books only mention names and achievements. We were even made to believe Aguinaldo is a hero. Imagine that. But then, we also believed that Ninoy was and that his son deserved the presidency because his mother just died and thus they deserved all mercy, didn’t we?
Indeed, seeing ourselves as the gullible fools that we are after centuries of being blindfolded and led to believe a truth that serves only specific agenda, our collective eyes hurt and many would prefer to run back in the dark and refuse to see.