READERS FORUM

After the trial…

It should go without saying that the appropriate criminal charges should also be filed against Chief Justice Renato Corona if and when he is convicted bythe Senate on even one of the eight counts of impeachable offenses filed against him by Congress.

Full accountability calls for no less than that course of action because removal from office is not enough penalty for the charges raised against Corona – culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust and graft and corruption.

The charge of graft and corruption alone should bring to light some sordid details about how Corona allegedly used his closeness to the Arroyo administration for his personal and family’s benefits.

One such case for which Corona and his wife may be held criminally accountable is the latter’s appointment during the Arroyo administration as president of thegovernment-owned corporation managing the former US military recreation center Camp John Hay in Baguio.

And even should Corona decide to resign as Chief Justice before or during his trial by the Senate, government prosecutors under the Department of Justice headed by Secretary Leila de Lima should still press criminal charges against him.

And please, there should be no hospital detention for Mr. Corona like that afforded his benefactor, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Corona is too big and burly a man to feign any ailment to necessitate his not being jailed along with ordinary citizens, again, if and when criminal charges are filed against him. – JENNIFER DENUM, jhenbert21@hotmail.ph

Appeal to Corona

I appeal to the sense of honor of Chief Justice Renato Corona to muster the needed political courage to resign from his post. If he missed the opportunity to demonstrate his impartiality by inhibiting from thecases involving the Arroyos, he has now an opportunity to redeem what is left of his credibility by giving up the crown of chief justice.

Lest we forget that when Mrs. Arroyo was still Vice-President, Corona served as her Chief of Staff and Spokesperson. When Arroyo assumed the presidency in 2001, he served as her Presidential Chief of Staff, Spokesperson and as Acting Executive Secretary.

These positions are confidential in nature. It is proof that Corona enjoyed the full trust and confidence of Arroyo from the start. As such, the positions he occupied during the Arroyo presidency are accorded only to people who are fully trusted by the appointing authority.

On this alone, his participation in the deliberation of Arroyo’s fate smacks of partisanship. It is no surprise that Arroyo hastened to appoint him as Chief Justice nearing the end of her presidency, which the people also deemed as the beginning of her prosecution. Arroyo needed the most loyal of her people to protect her, hence, the birth of the midnight chief justice.

This would also explain the consistent pattern that emerges should one scrutinize the decisions Corona made in favor of the Arroyo administration. The fact that he voted 15 times for Arroyo on 19 cases or a batting average of 78 % in favor of Arroyo is profoundly stupefying.

Let us not forget that the integrity of the Supreme Court rests upon the decisions that will be made inthe crucial cases involving the Arroyos. The people who have suffered nine years of corruption and impunity under the Arroyo regime are looking for answers. They will not settle for anything less thanthe truth.

I was once part of the Armed Forces of thePhilippines, whose integrity was severely tarnished by allegations of its involvement in rigging elections in favor of Arroyo. The offense is not a simple corruption case wherein elements of the military appropriate public funds for private use. It is also a direct affront to the right of the people to a clean and honest election. This issue is central to the duty of uniformed men and women to uphold and protect theconstitution. I myself am looking for answers. I myself will not settle for anything less than the truth.

Hence, I write Corona this letter. After all, if a simple letter can overturn a final decision issued by the high tribunal on the FASAP retrenchment case, then perhaps my letter as a citizen and voter could persuade Corona to do the right thing.

Resignation is not an act of defeat but in this instance, an aid to truth. Corona’s resignation will mean justice being served, something that Corona has sworn to as a lawyer. By stepping aside in thedispensation of justice, Corona is doing the Supreme Court, the Filipino people, and even Arroyo a great favor.

At the end of the day, if the voting on the Arroyo cases is presided over by a credibility-challenged chief justice, then the search for the truth will be defeated. It will not be decided in any substantive or legal standards, but by mere loyalty to a former boss. – BRIG. GEN. (ret.) DANILO LIM, Contact Nos. 0927 949 6623/ 0939 171 8005

Remembering Father Tentorio

Obviously, the people in Arakan, North Cotabato still mourn the passing of Fr. Tentorio who was gunned down last year. His killers have been apprehended and the investigation is still ongoing. Fr. Tentorio left a legacy of service in his missionary work which is why his memory cannot easily be erased particularly to the indigenous peoples he served for so long.

His work was not only on the spiritual aspect. He also made sure that the rights of these people were amply protected. Maybe, because of his dedicated work, he stepped on other people’s toes and he was an easy target for liquidation. Perhaps some groups were already intimidated by his courage and boldness, hence, he was eliminated.

His death was pinpointed as the handiwork of themilitary which almost always gets the blame when any personality is shot and killed or assassinated. And it is nothing to new to the armed forces. And it hasn’t in any way affected their mission or morale at all.

In apprehending the suspects to his killing, there is no evidence that links the military to it. I, myself wonder what would the AFP gain from killing Fr. Tentorio who was performing a similar mission to help the people in the area? Groups like the NPAs are most likely to gain from accusing the military. They have this penchant for always pointing to the military as always the culprits when these things happen. Whichever, Fr. Tentorio is now at peace and his killers will pay for their misdeed.

There will be other Fr. Tentorios who will take up the cudgels of his missionary work and fear not.

As for the CPP-NPA, please refrain from using tragic incidents such as these for propaganda mileage. It is not only appalling but likewise manifests the groups insensitivity towards the feelings of those who grieve for the loss. – CHANTAL B. AZNAR, Zamboanga City