he Palace is not
completely satisfied with its victory in the Supreme Court ruling upholding
Romulo Neri’s invocation of executive privilege in refusing to answer Senate
questions into his conversations with Gloria Arroyo over the graft-tainted $329
million national broadband deal.
No one except Palace hacks is convinced of the correctness of
the ruling, let alone its wisdom. Suspicions are even being voiced that the
majority did not vote on the basis of what the Constitution, the law and
jurisprudence say but on the basis of extra-judicial considerations.
The credibility of the high tribunal has indeed been placed
under a cloud by the Neri ruling. The justices, to their credit, have not
mounted their high horses and threatened to cite critics in contempt. Not yet
anyway. But who knows? One of these days, when the court is sufficiently packed
with Arroyo appointees, it might resort to sending to jail those who disagree
with it.
The chorus in the Palace is singing different variations of
the same theme, that is, the tribunal has spoken and everybody must yield to its
ruling.
The soprano in the person of deputy spokesperson Lorelei
Fajardo warns critics they are inviting a contempt of court citation.
The basso profundo in the person of presidential management
staff chief Cerge Remonde bewails that nobody pays attention to the sub judice
rule anymore (the ruling is open to a motion for reconsideration).
We are waiting for the boy tenor, deputy presidential
spokesman Anthony "So-Sue-Us" Golez, to pipe in "Go to court," but he obviously
can’t as there is no other tribunal higher than the SC, save the sovereign
people whose judgment is exercised only either inside the polling places or in
the barricades. The latter is probably the place where the issue of the
unbridled corruption of the Arroyo administration will be settled given the loss
of the credibility of the institutions of government, including the Supreme
Court.
Let us remind Gloria’s propagandists of a fundamental
principle in a democracy. Consent of the governed is earned via legitimate
assumption of authority and its lawful exercise. Consent cannot be extracted
through manipulation, intimidation and outright repression.
We don’t believe there is such an animal called political
libel despite the provision in the Penal Code for the crime of sedition.
So we will again say what we have been saying for so long.
The Arroyo administration is illegitimate and even it were otherwise, it has
lost its right to govern for its lying, cheating and thieving.
If the Supreme Court says we are totally wrong, we say: "Sama
sama na sila."
And let contempt of court go hang.
