Wrecked adjudicators

DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
8/1/2007



“We are eleven million voters who elected Senator Trillanes to serve us in the Senate. Who is this judge Oscar Pimentel to deny us the service of Senator Trillanes?” raged our radio listener, Kabansang Lily’s text. What right does this judge have to impose his obviously political and partisan interpretation of Senator Trillanes’ petition for bail and conditional mobility to attend Senate sessions? There is absolutely no basis for denying bail for Trillanes: there is no danger of flight of the accused who has stayed in detention to face the false accusations, standing by integrity and honor.

Unlike other leaders in the 2003 Oakwood young officers’ protest action Senator Trillanes never attempted to escape even if, like Capt. Faeldon, he had every opportunity to do so. Oakwood has been vindicated in its exposé of AFP corruption and False Flag operations code named “Operation Greenbase” ordered by the AFP top brass. This is a continuing debate between Faeldon’s two-man faction and the rest of the Bagong Katipuneros (dubbed by media as Magdalo). Trillanes and his comrades are determined to confront their accusers in the court of law and public opinion to prove their innocence.

Trillanes has been astoundingly and overwhelmingly vindicated by the public with eleven million voters confirming their faith and confidence in him, which is immeasurably much more than the faith and confidence our people are willing to entrust the courts and Judge Oscar Pimentel. Even a review of the Oakwood event caught on video clearly show Senator Trillanes and company declaring the action “not a coup d’etat” but an exposé of the cancers in government and the military institution that leads to the continuing “dying society” and “endless war”.

The jurisprudence used by Judge Oscar Pimentel is wrong and the consensus among lawyers is that the case of Jalosjos the judge used is absolutely inappropriate and the Senator Montano case which allowed the senator accused of murder bail to attend to his duties is apropos. Granted that even if there it is an arguable case based on conflicting precedents, the persuasion of eleven million voters should have weighed in – in favor of giving the electorate its due. Judge Pimentel, who is no dumbkopf, knows all these yet he still persisted in pronouncing the unwise decision.

Most galling is Judge Pimentel’s denial of Trillanes petition to set up a working office at the Marines’ “Brig”or detention facility. If there is no danger of flight of the accused to be on bail, as we have established and Trillanes’ past conduct proves, there is absolutely no danger of Trillanes’ flight or Arroyo’s fright to have an office for Trillanes within the most tightly guarded confines of the Marine HQ at Ft. Bonifacio. Denying this office to Trillanes really betrays Judge Pimentel’s bizarre unreality or a convoluted psyche that went into his decisions.

The morning of the Friday the Makati RTC’s decision was expected I was already told by a fellow Bicolano lawyer of Judge Pimentel that Trillanes’ petition would be denied. The Bicolano lawyer purposely visited his fellow oragon to appeal for Trillanes’ case but the reply was a no –pressures involving Judge Pimentel’s retirement, threats of cases to be filed and his medical condition (he’s reportedly under dialysis twice a week) left him little choice. There was even betting on which way Pimentel would go, but I didn’t bet; I was just sad.

The Filipino public expects the adjudicating agencies of society to sustain its sense of good and bad, right and wrong, true and false. More often than acceptable the courts and other adjudicating agencies judge and decide cases contrary to the Filipino people’s moral, ethical and rational sense. Regulatory agencies are also adjudicatory agencies: like the ERC, the MWSS; in the past few weeks we have seen how these two decide in power and water against the people’s wisdom and welfare; or they panic the people into acquiescence, like power and water “drought”.

The courts and judges are no wiser than the people are – but it is impossible to pressure eleven million people to think the wrong is right while one judge or even a dozen like the Supreme Court is much easier to pressure, entice or intimidate. Eleven million voters are judging the judge and they are justified in doing so. To Judge Pimentel’s fortune, Senator Trillanes maintains a statesmanship that compels his supporters to give the benefit of the doubt to Judge Pimentel. Trillanes’ lawyer has announced that they will appeal Judge Pimentel’s decisions.

A Malaya columnist texted about Judge Pimentel’s decision: “Rebolusyon na tayo.” In a way, Judge Pimentel is serving the true cause of the people well –more and more people ponder the final solution to the growing cancer eating up every institution of Philippine society. It brings us back to the imperativeness and, maybe, inevitability of The Last Revolution. Only the people and leaders genuinely embodying that change we all want –authenticity and simplicity in existence – as the Bagong Katipuneros showed us in their “boodle fight”.

The “boodle fight” represents sharing amongst all, of the high and low ranks; a sharing of food and of fate in the simplest setting. Today’s adjudicators do not share the moral, ethical and social sense of the nation – they serve the power cabal which has wrecked our institutions. (Tune to 1098AM, 6-7am, M-W-F)