Twenty -three years since the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986, most of us for sure have all but given up on our hopes and dreams back then.
Wala rin nangyari, wala ring pagbabago – Nothing good has happened, nothing has changed, as many have been wont to say.
We booted out the Dictator Marcos specifically among other reasons for corruption and plunder of the Nation’s wealth. But here we are, still a most corrupt country as surveys after surveys have shown. The present dispensation has much to answer for. Could this be the real reason why GMA skipped the EDSA celebration?
If we recall back then, the three branches of our government were at their lowest. Both the executive and legislative were directly under one-man rule, and the Supreme Court was a supreme farce. EDSA brought new life to these great departments, albeit the presidency and Congress now are perhaps no better, even worse.
But it is the Supreme Court that is, shall we say, keeping the faith—except, sadly, on executive privilege. Paradoxically, our Chief Justice is someone who defended the Martial Law regime before, but is now leading the so-called “moral revolution” that time and again we have all needed.
Of course, it is not Mr. Reynato Puno alone who is pressing on in this struggle, but the entire Supreme Court and the rest of the Nation still believing, and still working hard, and still stepping up for truth and justice, and most of all, public accountability. Lest we forget, public accountability is the heart and soul of EDSA.
On this note—perhaps no greater evidence is there to prove that they’re for real—the Supreme Court on the eve of EDSA, on February 24, slapped a Php500,000.00 fine on its own former member, retired Justice Ruben Reyes, for leaking an unpromulgated decision to a party litigant. And this comes in the wake of the recent sacking of then Court of Appeals Justice Vicente Rojas.
In an unprecedented and unanimous per curiam decision, the Supreme Court held thus: “Justice Ruben T. Reyes (Ret.) is held liable for GRAVE MISCON DUCT for leaking a confidential internal document of the Court and he is FINED P500,000.00, to be charged against his retirement benefits, and disqualified to hold any office or employment in any branch or instrumentality of the government including government-owned or controlled corporations; furthermore, Justice Ruben T. Reyes is directed to SHO W CAUS E within ten (10) days from receipt of a copy of this Decision why he should not be disciplined as a member of the Bar in light of the aforementioned findings.” In addition, the Court held court personnel Atty. Rosendo B. Evangelista and Armando Del Rosario liable “for SIMPLE NEGLECT OF DUTY and are ordered to pay the FINE in the amount of P10,000.00 and P5,000.00, respectively.”
For sure, this decision is one shining lamp that can help keep EDSA alive and burning in our hearts forever.