The clock is ticking.
The impeachment hearings against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno at the House of Representatives are taking a toll on the nerves of many sectors. Not only are they being talked about in coffee and barber shops, they are also sometimes being talked of by even the bus crews and passengers.
I give it that Filipinos today are becoming more and more news-oriented compared to their counterparts some ten to 15 years ago.
CJ Sereno is now on a wellness leave, prodded earlier by the result of the en banc session where news reports said she was confronted by her fellow magistrates to surrender and resign.
To a layman, however one tries to interpret it, this wellness leave is a euphemism for a sick leave or a vacation leave.
But let us grant CJ Sereno this, considering that she is on an uphill battle to stave off an impending ouster move via a constitutionally-provided legal process as all impeachable officers are subjected to.
As more and more evidences are presented by interested parties in the impeachment hearings, the likelihood is that the plenary in the HOR will pick to impeach the Chief Justice when the issue goes to a vote.
Add to this the public perception that Sereno has committed violations that are impeachable in nature is growing.
The SALN issue, which is giving the Sereno camp a big headache, has educated the people that this government document cannot be tinkered like it were just a negligible matter.
While she has publicly announced she is not resigning, the mounting pressure and the meticulous detailed litany of her “sins” might be too much to bear in the ensuing days.
The BIR has discovered about Sereno’s tax arrears arising out of her earnings from the PIATCO airport case and may yet help pin down the Chief Justice, if her lawyers cannot disprove it.
If one looks back to the Corona impeachment days when former Pres. Noynoy Aquino himself made his displeasure known, history could be repeating itself.
When Aquino 3rd appointed Sereno Chief Justice, she surpassed several much senior associate justices, including the most senior among them, AJ Antonio Carpio.
The lady Chief Justice could use her wellness break to meditate and ponder, pray and spend quiet times with God. Away from the madding crowd, it will help her see the problem clearly, consult her family and close relatives and decide on the best solution.
For me, I would consider this situation more of a spiritual dilemma than anything the circumstances present.
Lewis Dunning said: “What life means to us is determined not so much by what life brings to us as by the attitude we bring to life, not so much by what happens to us as by our reaction to what happens.”
This is not coincidental to the trauma the Chief Justice is going through.
Her attitude to life will either save her from the humiliating impeachment process or plunge her into the depths of the unknown.
Her positive response to earthly challenges will determine her spirituality.
History is replete with stories of bravery and cowardice, of tragedy and romance, of the likes of Romeo and Juliet, of leaders and heroes like Lincoln, Churchill and Meir.
Public officials who are confronted by these seemingly overwhelming challenges cannot shirk from history.
They either make it or they are broken. (Email your feedback to fredlumba@yahoo.com.) 2 Cor.5:7. “We live by faith, not by sight.” GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!
