SEVERAL legal experts have echoed Vice President Jejomar C. Binay’s accusation of “selective justice”
under the Aquino administration.
Integrated Bar of the Philippines National President Vicente M. Joyas; Levito Baligod, an anticorruption crusader and lawyer; Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, dean of the San Beda College of Law Graduate School and University of the Philippines law Prof. Harry Roque Jr. agreed with Binay’s position that the Department of Justice (DOJ) appears to have employed double standard in its investigation and prosecution of corruption anomalies, particularly the Priority Development Assistance Fund (Pdaf) scam.
Baligod, an anticorruption crusader, said Binay was correct in criticizing the manner by which the Aquino administration is handling the investigation on corruption in the government.
“[What Vice President Binay] said is true. This administration is timid to prosecute decadent allies, and brave to use the entire government apparatus to ram its political opponents,” Baligod said.
Baligod was a former lawyer of whistle-blowers in the PDAF scam led by Benhur Luy.
“It is selective justice, it is immoral, and it is graft and corruption in itself,” the lawyer added.
For his part, Joyas, who heads of the 55,000-strong mandatory organization of lawyers in the country, said the delay in the filing of the third batch of Pdaf cases where several administration allies—Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) Director General Joel Villanueva, Centrist Party Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro and former Lakas Rep. Rachel Arenas of Pangsinan—have been implicated proves selective justice under the present administration.
“I do not agree with her [Justice Secretary Leila de Lima]. There is selective justice and that holds true up to this day,” he said.
“We are still surprised why is there such a delay. There appears to be a selective justice. We are all aware there are many people involved and, yet only three senators were charged,” the lawyer added.
Aquino agreed, saying that the double standard on investigations against opposition lawmakers and officials vis-à-vis administration allies has been very glaring.
“The ‘selection’ is clear. Why were some hurriedly prosecuted and why does it take so long to conclude investigations against the President’s allies? Has any high-profile ally like [Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad been prosecuted?” Aquino pointed out.
Abad was included on the so-called Napolist submitted by alleged Pdaf scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles to de Lima early last year along with her supposedly tell-all testimony on the multibillion-peso racket.
Meanwhile, Roque criticized de Lima for denying the selective justice statement of Binay, who resigned from the Cabinet earlier this week.
“She’s playing blind and deaf to the fact that no one in the administration has been indicted despite COA [Commission on Audit] reports against administration allies on Pdaf and despite the Supreme Court ruling on DAP [Disbursement Acceleration Program],” stressed Roque, who was a petitioner in SC cases on Pdaf and DAP.
“There’s just no reason for the delay when you have common [pieces of] evidence, COA reports and whistle-blowers. It’s foot dragging since they don’t want to file, he claimed.
Marcos on jailing of political foes
THE next president should not make it a government policy to jail political opponents, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Friday.
Marcos said such policy, adopted in the past and present administrations, is counterproductive and divides the people.
“We should do away with what we have been seeing in the past few years when recent administrations adopted a deliberate campaign of vengeance against their political foes, practically making it a national policy,” Marcos said.
Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sent her predecessor President Joseph Estrada to jail on plunder charges. Arroyo, in turn, met the same fate under the Aquino administration.
The Aquino administration had also actively sought the impeachment of former Chief Justice Renato Corona, who is an appointee of Arroyo and pressured Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to resign owing to threats of impeachment.
Recently, opposition Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr. were jailed on allegations of corruption.
The three voted for the conviction of Corona during his impeachment trial.
Many political observers believe President Aquino may suffer the same fate, as Arroyo and Estrada owing to the SC ruling that declared unconstitutional the administration’s DAP, which funneled billions of public funds into various projects.
If Aquino had, indeed, violated the laws, then he should face charges that may be filed against him after his term, Marcos said.
However, Marcos said the next administration should not have a direct hand in the filing of such charges and should treat them as any ordinary criminal case.
“We should leave that culture of vengeance behind us. What the next president should strive is to unite the country so that every Filipino could work together for the good of our country—not for personal gain, not for the benefit of a party, but for the benefit of the entire nation,” Marcos added.
“The top priority of the next president should not be to go after political opponents and play politics. His priority should be how to push the development of our country, how to improve the lives of our people, how to grow the economy,” he added.
Two business groups denounced the ongoing word war between the Aquino administration and Binay, saying that the focus should shift to filling the vacancy at the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers Affairs.
The Makati Business Club (MBC) and the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) said that the word war that ensued following Binay’s resignation from the Cabinet is ill-advised.
“More than the word war, what is important is ensuring that competent and credible persons are appointed to the positions left by the VP.
The work must continue on the concerns of housing and the overseas workers,” MBC Executive Director Peter V. Perfecto said.
MAP, on the other hand, had stronger words against the embattled Binay.
“The reaction of Binay, a presidential aspirant, is bad for the investment climate and confidence. His relationship with President Aquino dates a long way back; what he could have done is keep quiet when he resigned,” MAP President Francisco F. del Rosario said.
(With Recto Mercene and Cathy Pillas)
1 comment
The justice system in the Philippines ….no words to describe you.Namatay na lahat sa natural causes ang Ampatuan massacre suspect,wala pa ring nangyari.