The trending game

BACKBENCHER
Rod P. Kapunan
3/24-25/2012



It has never seeped into the minds of the so-called beacons in our society that the dispensation of justice has never been or can ever be a popularity contest. The judges, even from among primeval civilizations, do not judge the accused on the basis of what is popular; or condemn him because the people lust for his blood, or absolve him because he is influential. Civilized societies judge the accused on the basis of the evidence, and to impose the penalty if guilty, but not on what the public wants.

The survey conducted by Pulse Asia was an uncalled-for interference on the processes of the Senate impeachment court. It was a subtle attempt to influence the judgment of the impeachment court by the clever way of orchestrating “public sentiment.” There was malice much that it attempts to lay down the predicate that accused Chief Justice Renato Corona is guilty. Although only 47 percent of the respondents say Corona is guilty, the Philippine Daily Inquirer highlighted that in its banner to condition the readers that indeed the fellow is guilty.

Invariably, it forewarns the 24 members of the Senate impeachment court that they have no business acquitting him or that it would be morally wrong for them to pronounce him not guilty. To deviate could make them answerable to the people. The survey amounts to prejudging the accused, and Pulse Asia is now acting as the unwitting spokesman of President Aquino who earlier declared he will not accept anything less than a guilty verdict.

Even if we take it that 47 percent indicated he is guilty, the 43 percent undecided does not stand for nothing. Neither could Pulse Asia and Inquirer assume Corona could eventually be judged guilty. The same can be said for the 5 percent claiming to have no basis. Remember, the 43 percent undecided knows the issue but could not decide. In that sense they have their grave doubt on the guilt of Corona. The 5 percent represents those who do not know what is going on, while the other 5 percent says he is not guilty.

In that, one could deduce that the 43 percent undecided and the 5 percent claiming to have no basis are likely to judge Corona not guilty because it would be an insult if after 34 days of marathon hearing they have not been able to come out with their own preliminary conclusion of the case. The 43 percent undecided is a slap on the face of the prosecution because it highlights its failure to explain why its members acted more like clowns than as lawyers. It is not the duty of the defense to convince the public about the innocence of Corona. Theirs is to rebut all those allegations by presenting their own witnesses and evidence that he is not guilty!

The uncanny thing is that as the hearing progresses, the public comes to realize that the prosecution has not proven anything. Even if we give it to them that Corona is guilty, they already missed that opportunity. Many of the previously anti-Corona are now pro-Corona precisely because of the prosecution’s stupidity. Such pathetic situation reminded me of that old adage that if the prosecution is weak, the accused need not even need a lawyer. All that Corona did was to give them enough rope to hang themselves with.

The latest of this episode is the alleged erroneous Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth. That tart-wagging Senator Joker Arroyo is right that mistakes and errors in the SALN is not an impeachable offense. It cannot even be a misdemeanor. Errors and mistakes can always be rectified that is why we have the Civil Service Commission to check all those SALNs. What is impeachable if Corona did not file his SALN?

The same is true in the filing of income tax. Nobody goes to jail for committing an error or mistake in his income tax declaration. All taxpayers are given the widest leeway to explain why they did not pay for this or why they failed to declare some of their income. In that, taxpayers merely avail of their right to a tax deduction which is perfectly legal. It is the right of taxpayers to reduce the amount they want to pay just as it is the duty of the BIR to dispute that. What is being punished is tax evasion for in that instance the taxpayer purposely did not file his income tax.

To make things worse, all the errors the prosecution claims to have discovered in the SALN of Corona reveals their pathetic ineptness. Errors were bound to happen because the prosecution was holding on to titles and documents of properties that were either not owned by Corona, or have long been canceled, sold or disposed of. Some are even spurious to say the least. In which case, how could the prosecution proceed to punish Corona when knowingly it was they who used and presented that as their evidence?

My greatest fear is that Pulse Asia and all those hacks of this regime would from now on regularly dish out their alleged survey, gradually increasing the number of respondents pointing to Corona as guilty. Pulse Asia hopes to substitute the idiotic shortcomings of the prosecution forgetting that the Filipino people are not interested on what the supposed public opinion has to say, but in knowing the truth.

(rodkap@yahoo.com.ph)