PeNoy's moro-moros

DIE HARD III

Herman Tiu Laurel

07/08/2010

This early, the real motives behind the PeNoy regime are starkly being exposed in some key appointments. The first is that of former Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Hilario Davide to head the newly-created “Truth Commission” that will supposedly look into the sins of the nine-and-a-half-year-long regime of Gloria Arroyo.

Davide is known for a few distinct (dis)honors: Failing to reconvene the impeachment hearings when anti-Estrada senators walked out, thus bringing the proceedings to the streets (and the Yellow mob); then conniving with other SC justices and Arroyo to legalize the coup d’ etat and illegally swearing the usurper in as “acting president” while using “his” court’s illegal participation in that partisan political exercise and all its resulting partisan decisions as immunity from his own impeachment in the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF) scam, as well as, to finagle appointments from Arroyo.

With such a record of connivance with Gloria, how can Davide be expected to do justice to the assignment given him to dig into the venalities of his erstwhile master’s regime? This appointment of PeNoy was made clearly to assuage any fears of Arroyo that the Truth Commission will be taking its task seriously. Gloria Arroyo is privy to all the anomalies and venalities of Davide throughout her reign that have been swept under the rug by her power over Congress and the police agencies of this country. Even before the illegal swearing-in of Arroyo in January 2001, the conspiratorial relationship of the two was already established. Revelations in the book Reforming the Judiciary by Justice Art Panganiban, then Davide’s No. 2, prove this.

Panganiban recounted that on the early morning of Jan. 20, 2001 while President Joseph Estrada was still in Malacañang and continued to refuse to resign, Panganiban called up Davide and proposed to have Gloria Arroyo sworn in by noon. Davide agreed but they had a problem: There was no cause for the SC to act on this as no one had yet raised the issue to the court. Davide then communicated through a soon-to-be-appointed Arroyo Justice, Antonio Carpio of The Firm, for Gloria to fax a letter to the SC on the matter. Thus, Davide found his excuse to issue a formal response.

At first, Davide invoked the “permanent disability” ground, even when Estrada wasn’t just alive and kicking but fighting all the way. The nation thus saw Davide swearing-in Arroyo that noon (having Aquilino Pimentel as mic boy), with the justices of the SC illegally gracing Edsa II.

Two months later in March 2001, Davide together with his justices invoked a non-existent “constructive resignation” doctrine to justify the removal of Estrada, clearly admitting the dubiousness of their earlier justification while replacing it with a constitutionally-baseless theory that further exposed them as totally devoid of principle and integrity.

With all the favors he had done for Arroyo, Davide got to do anything he wanted and enjoyed the protection of the “almighty” he helped install in Malacañang. And enjoy it to the hilt he did when the shit of the JDF that was under his charge hit the fan. Aside from having assigned his son to be the contractor of the SC Justices’ palatial Baguio rest house, notwithstanding the fact that the fund was never earmarked for such, Davide also caused the multibillion-peso fund to be used for buying luxury cars and P120,000-swivel chairs, as well as, for dubious reconstruction projects for some SC buildings. And Congress couldn't even successfully impeach him for this blatant abuse of power courtesy of Arroyo.

Does PeNoy then expect Davide to go after Gloria and her minions with hammer and tongs? Of course not. (Or maybe he never thought about it, which would not surprise us one bit.) Although we have been told that the lobbying for Davide’s appointment came from Jovito Salonga, that doesn’t change the implications of his appointment: This is a cozy arrangement to soft-pedal on the cases against Gloria. It lends more credence now to our firm conviction that the whole election and transition from Gloria to PeNoy is a zarzuela, a wayang kulit, a kabuki play; and the hostility between them nothing but a moro-moro. If ever Davide has any thought of putting some real pressure on Gloria in the Truth Commission, she would have no trouble at all reminding him of their many crimes together — and dragging all these along on their road to hell.

Scrutinizing PeNoy’s other major appointments, the resulting non-change is very obvious. DoJ Secretary Leila de Lima, despite her plaudits, had a dubious pick for the Maguindanao Massacre case’s forensic medical examiner — the sister-in-law of the lawyer of the Ampatuans — when she was still at the helm of the Human Rights Commission. The new BIR chief Kim Jacinto-Henares has quickly picked up where Arroyo’s last BIR chief left off by giving the go-ahead for the collection of the VAT on toll ways, without batting an eyelash for the pain commuters and biyaheros will suffer. Meanwhile, DBM chief Butch Abad, after saying right after the elections that there was room to cut down the budget deficit, now turns around and says the P300-billion deficit is necessary in view of the “high expectations” of the people from PeNoy.

Alas, this text message adds: “Signs of things to come? The first day’s Executive Order No. 1 terminating all non-civil service eligibles revised due to error; PNoy late 30 mins. for installation of new AFP head due to stopping of his car before red traffic lights; and suddenly going for massage and therapy one day after start of term due to back pain.”

The only change we can therefore expect is a change from bad to worse for the nation’s justice system and the economic welfare of our people.

(Tune in to 1098AM, Sulo ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Destiny Cable Channel 21, Talk News TV — Infowars Edition, Tuesday, 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., “To Save the Nation: Financial and Economic Imperatives” with labor economist Dr. Rene Ofreneo; also visit http://hermantiulaurel.blogspot.com)