The Philippine Online Chronicles

With the first week of the Corona Trial out of the way and the second week about to begin, many people are wondering just exactly how things will turn out. While no one can say for certain how things will unravel, there are certain expectations and desires that the Filipino people have.

The weeks leading to the trial were filled with speculation, wild accusations and allegations and exciting promises of evidence presentation and witness testimony. This was from the prosecution camp alone.

The Corona camp responded with guns blazing last week by naming those who were behind the impeachment proceedings, giving thinly veiled hints as to who his enemies were.

While the trial proceedings unfold oh so slowly before live national television, the people are left to wonder whether this is a complete waste of time or whether this is an authentic quest for truth and justice. However, there are many things that we do desire, regardless of the outcome or final decision of the Corona Impeachment Trial.

Many are still uncertain

The country is divided as to what exactly should happen to the Chief Justice. Some are still wondering whether or not we should even have an impeachment proceeding in the first place.

Surveys showed that about half the people in the country are undecided when it comes to Chief Justice Corona. Perhaps it is because he has showed some competence when it comes to handling the Supreme Court. We have the Justice on Wheels, which is an attempt to address the backlog of court cases by bringing the courts to the people.

He also decisively decided on the long overdue disbursement of the Hacienda Luisita Properties. Supporters of the Cojuangco clan and the sitting President Aquino feel that it is Corona’s attempt to get back at Aquino for going after his predecessor, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Also, the entire impeachment proceedings will be a landmark in the event that the Chief Justice is impeached. What will happen next is a mad scramble for what will be done in the eventuality that happens. This is probably another reason why we feel apprehensive about what is going on. We are writing history and rewriting the laws as the proceedings move on.

We want the truth to come out

The main thing that people want out of this inquisition is the truth. Whether the truth incriminates Chief Justice Corona and leads to his impeachment or it exonerates him, at the end of the day, Filipinos just want to know the truth.

How did Corona afford all those properties when his SALNs report that he is only worth P14 million? How did he get the properties far below the market price? How is a chief justice able to afford a penthouse suite? How many properties does he really own? Did Corona really vote favorably for the president that appointed him? Is he really guilty of all the things he is being accused of?

Whatever the answers are to these questions, the Filipino people have had enough of the lies, the spin doctors, the press releases and the fairy tales. We just want to know what is going on.

We want it to be fair

Let due process work out. Give the man his day in court and don’t do a trial by publicity. We want our senator judges to act with decorum and intelligence. We want them to be fair and act without bias. We want them to set aside their prejudices and decide based on the evidence presented and act in accordance to the law. There needs to be credible evidence and witness testimony for an impeachment vote to happen. Both the prosecution and defense need to be given time to prepare and present their case.

We want it fast

Let’s not waste everyone’s time and be quick about things. The prosecution says they’ll be done by March. Realistically, some are saying that this could take the first three quarters of the year.

The longer the trial takes, the more the people will lose interest with the proceedings. Also, more taxpayer money will be wasted with the proceedings. It will also waste the time of the senators and lawmakers who should actually be making laws. While the trial is ongoing, the country can’t pass any laws regarding the more important bills, make changes to the constitution and make laws that will stimulate investments, help alleviate poverty, fix the education system and address the many social concerns in the country.

We want the process to work

Our laws are here to protect the people. We voted President Aquino so he’d clean up the corrupt mess left by the previous government and because he promised us he’d clean house. Going through the impeachment proceedings may be one step in this direction.

However, we need to make sure that due process is actually followed. We want to make sure that those handling the proceedings respect the law. We also want to make sure that the people respect whatever the results are of the impeachment proceedings.

The last thing we want is another People Power to the infinity power. If the proceedings don’t go peacefully, we don’t want people to take to the streets, start a riot and have another coup d'état.

We want PNoy to focus on government

While all the drama unfolds at the Senate Halls, the President must remain focused on his job as president. He needs to address the dire economic scenario in the country so that we don’t fall into a recession or lose any of the economic strides we have gained in the past years, whether these have only benefited the top 1% of the population or not.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda has declared that the president “…holds fast to its commitment to good governance, it also would not waver in pursuing equitable economic growth." Let’s hope this is true. So far, his administration has been able to increase tourism by a million. Two million jobs have also been created in the past year.

The President needs to remember that his primary goal as president isn’t to go after the bad guys. It’s to lead the country. It’s up to the President to ensure that we become one of the 27 countries that will make the tremendous leapfrog so that the Philippines will become the 16^th largest economy in the world by 2050.

Let’s all hope that we get what we want at the end of the day and that the outcome is fair, just and true.

Photo by Voltaire Domingo from Philippine Senate Website. Some rights reserved.