Corona Appointment GMA ‘Rear Guard’ Scheme?

A Major Case of "Covering" Behinds




The ride that President Benigno Aquino III took from Malacanang to the Luneta in the seemingly cordial company of his predecessor ex-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, reassured the country, and the world, that to the extent possible, democracy is alive in the Philippines. Alive yes, but how well is it?

Perhaps just as significant the ride was in projecting that image of peaceful transition, was the pointed absence of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato C. Corona, whose assumption to office May 17th was deemed illegitimate by Aquino. Troublesome clouds lie in the horizon.

There is fear that Aquino’s stand on the “midnight appointment” of Corona could lead to a “constitutional crisis”. In my view, the onus for bringing about this crisis should fall squarely on Arroyo’s shoulder. Why? Because it is exceedingly clear that it is one appointment that she did not need to make and could have very well have been left to the new president to act on. As Vincent Lazatin of the Transparency and Accountability Network put it:

“Integrity starts with an appointment that is not only legitimate, but morally and ethically acceptable. A chief justice whose own appointment is embroiled in doubts and suspicion will not be an effective leader.” I.e. how about a little delicadeza, Gloria!

Arroyo and her supporters are resting the validity of their case on the ruling by the Supreme Court that her action on Corona is exempt from the constitutional prohibition on midnight appointments. Perhaps this argument could stand scrutiny and be acceptable except for one minor concern: All those justices who ruled in Arroyo’s favor, every single one of them owed their exalted assignments to, who else(?) but Madame Arroyo herself.

A very strong argument can be made that in appointing Corona, who has been a henchman for her since 2001, Arroyo made a play to secure effective “rear guard” action in her behalf. It is not at all inconceivable that as the highest judicial authority in the land, chief of a group of justices all appointed by Arroyo, Corona could effectively derail any attempts to pursue her for the alleged crimes and transgressions during her long tenure.

And this is immediately visible. One of the very first actions of Corona was to announce that , after languishing for 4 years under a Temporary Restraining Order issued by the very same court that he just now joined, he would bring forth to life the complaints raised by labor tenants of the Cojuangco owned Hacienda Luisita. As Aquino is a 1 percent owner of the said estate, it can be argued that Corona’s action was a warning shot across Aquino’s bow that Corona could very well make life uncomfortable for the Aquino administration.

There are very serious legal matters that the Philippine legal system, especially the judiciary, needs to provide laser like focus and attention to. Foremost among them is the mass murder of the 57 people last November 23 laid at the feet of one of Arroyo’s strongest supporters, the Ampatuans. But no, neither Arroyo nor her government found this to be a serious enough matter to pay close and daily attention to. And Corona, the preeminent jurist of the country seems prepared to follow his benefactresses lead.

I don’t know how long the Filipino people will stand for this zarzuela engaged in by Arroyo and her cohorts. And it is a zarzuela indeed, perhaps a comical one like those engaged in by her late father Diosdado Macapagal and the late actor-diplomat Rogelio de la Rosa who, as youths, provided the Lubao, Pampanga townsfolk with much need entertainment relief with their performances.

Yet relief is not the need of the moment for our country. Rectitude and reform, among other priorities are. It is sad indeed that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, engaging in the rear guard action via midnight appointments and the elevation of her former henchman to the post of Chief Justice, has clearly made the covering of their behinds, not good governance nor the well being of the country, their utmost priority. She has taken all possible steps to hogtie the incoming administration who cannot now devote all of its time and talent to the task of lifting the wellbeing of the Filipino people, because it has to spend its resources and its days trying to untangle the wicked web Arroyo has woven.

John Milton, in his epic “Samson Agonistes” bemoaned the Israelite hero’s fate after his capture and blinding by the Philistines :

“Thou art become the dungeon of thyself , thy soul imprisoned…”.

Filipinas Agonistes. May we find our way out of the dungeons to which we have been condemned to by the past ignoble acts of the men and muses to whom we had entrusted our fates . As a new day dawns upon us we seek from our leaders no glorious heroism nor a flank of strutting white stallions; give us competence and a deserved dose of honesty and perhaps we may even smile, and dream a little.