by Edcer Escudero
THE Supreme Court, in a 10-5 majority decision, declared as unconstitutional the Truth Commission, a special body created by President Noynoy to ferret out the truth abut the scandals of the Arroyo administration.
The ruling produced a torrent of angry reactions from Noynoy and known anti-GMA forces which was more like cheap name calling rather than cerebral.
A Catholic priest who prefers to run semi-naked than preach the gospel of the Lord, promptly baptized Gloria as “untouchable”. Being a non-lawyer, his prejudiced opinion should also be promptly ignored.
Another Gloria detractor, a whistle-blower who publicly owned acts of corruption when he headed a minor agency in the DENR during Gloria’s regime postulated that GMA was smart for leaving behind tentacles (Supreme Court Justices) that would protect her from prosecution, persecution and demolition.
Both the priest and the whistle-blower are off-tangent and incurably cynical.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is not untouchable. It is simply that her despisers do not know how to touch her. But if they will heed the simple advice of the barrio philosopher in that ice cream TV commercial who says “use your coconut”, they will be able to touch Gloria and lead her all the way to the courtroom.
As for being smart, well, GMA is definitely smart. But her detractors are certainly not smarter.
Gloria is no longer president, and has no presidential immunity. Yet, they cannot pin her down. Noynoy doesn’t need a truth body to jail GMA. What he needs are strong pieces of evidence that would stand in court. Let the truth come out in court, not in the media.
The TC is not a court. It cannot render a conviction. It will only subject a person to trial by publicity. It will also be a venue for grandstanding just like the grandiloquent congressional investigating committees, it is edentulous.
Noynoy should junk the TC. Let the DOJ run after Gloria. Aquino’s rantings against the High Court are just hot air, all “sound and fury, signifying nothing”. He should think before opening his mouth and spit out threats and warnings.
My favorite neighbor, Jimmy, who dabbles in Bible interpretation, offers his two cents worth of advice on the issue, saying that Noynoy must have taken inspiration from the Biblical command “seek ye the truth, and the truth will set you free,” when he created the Truth Commission.
In a professorial tone, Jimmy went on to say that when Truth commissioners succeed in finding out the truth about the alleged anomalies and scandalous activities of the nine- year tumultuous Arroyo regime, and submit the grand report to Malacañang, President Noynoy, following the Biblical teaching, will set Gloria free.
Holy smoke, my neighbor is a prophet!
