Make believe
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The Senate impeachment trial has a lot of make-believes. For instance, the discussion on the merits of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.is supposed to be confined within the halls of the Senate. Any discussion outside is considered as sub judice and may be sanctioned. This is intended to divorce the senator-judges from bias and prejudice as they sift through the bulk of evidence of the prosecution and the defense.
But that is more breached than followed. Since day 1, everybody has his piece of the action. Everybody has his views, his analyses on the subject. Full and extensive commentaries are dime a dozen. Nobody is prevented from expressing his appreciation of the facts of the case. Even the President is very vocal on his opinions which are carried verbatim over the TV, print and broadcast media. He is already talking about possible conviction of Corona. And Corona is not only mouthing his counter-charge against the President, he is also questioning the propriety of the trial itself. He wants the Supreme Court to stop the Senate from proceeding with the trial for violation of his constitutional rights.
The senator-judges are also caught in the web of allegations of bias. Some have been charged of siding with the prosecution, the others are also said to be “lawyering” for the defense. The fiction being played is that they are “independent,” “impartial” and “very objective” in their roles as senator-judges even when everybody knows that they are not. This unique “role” of the senate also applies to the media.
One redeeming factor about all these is that nobody has yet questioned the integrity of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile who presides and moderates the trial. Nobody has yet assailed his orders or pronouncements. So far, he has maintained an unquestioned “control” over the proceedings even when some of his colleagues have been acting like they are the sole repository of knowledge. His advance age has not diminished his wit, intelligence and most of all, his energy. He remains a pillar in an institution that is on the verge of crumbling to extreme pressure. Enrile remains the bright light and the solid anchor in a world of make believe!
