Shades of McCarthy
The police found what they thought was an opportunity to
clamp down some more on media. It claimed the closed circuit camera of the
Manila Pen showed a lady journalist helping to escape Capt. Nicanor Faeldon, one
of the Magdalo officers who joined the Pen standoff.
Why the police disclosed it only last Friday, more than two
months after the assault, boggles the mind. There are supposed to be four
suspects including our Ellen Tordesillas.
As if to insult a nitwit, the police refuse to produce the
tape. So, who are they going to charge in court for what they could claim as
obstruction of justice?
I will personally surrender Ms. Tordesillas to the police if
I am convinced that the video proves that she assisted Faeldon. Being in the
company of Faeldon is not necessarily assisting him.
The truth is the police and the military are using what so
far is a non-existent tape as an opening to further harass media.
This is outright witch hunt similar to the days of Sen.
Joseph McCarthy in the United States. Everything he saw was red (read:
communist). The PNP and the military have the same mindset. But they cannot
produce the body of what they saw.
Maybe that is one of very few reasons suspected enemies of
the state are shot in the head, to do away with having to produce evidence that
can stand up in a fair trial.
Tortured
history
The intelligence community has a tortured record of lies and
inaccuracies. One of the tallest was the allegation by retired general Victor
Corpus that Sen. Panfilo Lacson had $700 million loot from drugs and kidnappings
for ransom stashed in US banks. Lacson declared that he would authorize anybody
to claim the money with a special power of attorney.
Corpus never took the challenge. He dished out a tall tale.
Then last week, the police reported that it arrested five discharged Scout
Rangers based on intelligence reports from the military.
The crime is illegal possession of firearms. I have raised
the question of which judge issued the warrants of arrest. No explanation so far
from the PNP.
Neither the police nor the military can produce a suspect in
the extra-judicial killings which have been condemned by the entire civilized
world.
What all these show is that the witch hunt will not stop.
Because media has been vigilant exposing the tortured record,
the police is producing the yarn that we are giving aid and comfort to the
enemy.
We should and must be punished if any of us in media has
committed a crime, But in the case of e Faeldon, we even have been denied to
examine the evidence.
This is fascism happening in a supposedly democratic society.
Second class democracy, no wonder.
The only
strong institution
The Philippines has been downgraded to a second class
democracy because its institutions have been so weakened by the Executive
Department. But there is one that seems to get stronger and defies – when doing
so complies with the Constitution – all the odds.
I am talking about what to me is a vigilant Supreme Court.
The tribunal has kept its independence from the Legislative
and Executive departments of government. This is shown by the way the Court
junks proclamations and executive orders which the jurists believe violate the
Constitution.
The Court should get stronger as blatant violations of the
laws and the Charter by the Executive continue to occur.
I have earlier said that seven jurists will retire before the
term of President Arroyo expires in 2010. If their replacements do not perform
the sworn duty of defending the Constitution and instead pay obeisance to the
President, the regime – this time with the help of the Court – would have fully
consummated the rape of democracy.
The times call for vigilance. It is the price of freedom. As
present events clearly show, the only hope remaining for us to remain free, or
at least stop losing our freedom, is the Supreme Court.
The rest of the institutions have failed. The House of
Representatives is in the palm of the President. A possible unicameral assembly,
created by proposed amendments to the Constitution, will abolish the Senate.
Open skies do not bring
tourists
The apostles of an Open Skies policy owe to themselves and
the foreign interests they serve to explain why several foreign airlines have
skipped Manila as a destination, or at least a drop off point. Lufthansa will
stop flying to Manila in March.
Earlier, Delta Air, United Airlines, Air France stopped
flying to Manila.
There is only one obvious reason. These airlines do not have
warm bodies to transport to Mania.
On the other hand, Philippine Airlines is limited to San
Francisco, Los Angles and lately Las Vegas through Vancouver. PAL, the national
flag carrier, has Filipinos to fly to Newark in New Jersey and maybe even
Chicago.
They cannot get the rights from the US Federal Aviation
Agency.
The anomaly of "Open Skies" is that it is open in the
Philippines but not in other countries, notably the United States, a route made
very fertile by Filipino workers and visitors.
The Department of Tourism claims arrivals are increasing
every year. I do not dispute that. But shouldn’t we make a distinction between
vacationing or returning OFWs and real tourists? Maybe we should. We might be
surprised that the tourists we get are also Filipinos.
We’re just bloating the number by not making these
distinctions.
My case with SC
During the hearing last week of my case for contempt, retired
Associate Justice Justo Torres asked me whether or not I checked the information
from my source that then Associate Justice Romeo Callejo convicted a
Chinese-Filipino, and that not too long after his retirement, a lady justice
reversed the decision.
I told the learned jurist that I did hot bother to check what
he says is a public record of conviction and reversal. I explained that I am
sure of my facts. I asked the panel to look up the records of the Supreme Court
to check my story.
I thought that even if I had the records, the panel would
still have to check the files with the Supreme Court. I did not get an answer
but I supposed fairness and justice will force the panel to grant my request to
dig up the records of the case.
After all, the panel has preliminary powers. Meaning it is as
powerful as the Court in trying to get the facts.
There are three more hearings where I might again be asked to
testify.
The panel will make its recommendation to the Court en banc
which will in turn take a vote on my case.
