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Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Carvajal: The politics of justice is injustice
By Orlando P. Carvajal
One is saddened to note that we do not live anymore by a code of ethics. We live by the code of politics that, briefly stated, goes something like this: “Only the politically weak can commit crimes while the politically strong cannot.”
Since that is now the operative code underlying a façade of moral righteousness, one can rightly say we have lost our moral fiber as a nation.
What we have is a political fiber and that is no fiber at all. It is a social cancer.
President Arroyo’s impeachment, for instance, is being decided purely on political grounds. But the opposition should not complain because that is exactly how Erap’s impeachment was being decided had it not been for Erap making the crucial mistake that led to people power taking over the impeachment process. Rare is the politician in this country who votes on issues along moral lines.
The Melo Commission has just been formed to investigate the spate of killings in the country. I have said my piece about this and recent events have proven me right. Even before the commission could meet more killings have happened to add to what it has to investigate. The Melo Commission is a political move meant to delay justice. The ethical move does not need a commission to solve and stop the killings.
Now we are going to investigate the oil spill disaster later, according to the President, after the cleanup. Of course the clean up takes priority but do we really need a long investigation later to determine who cleared a single-hulled vessel for use as bulk tanker when the law requires it to be double-hulled and who else cleared it to sail in bad weather? Just who are they trying to protect?
On the nursing exam, why should everybody retake it? Why can we not pinpoint who accepted payment for the leakage, fire the source of the leakage and let only those who paid for the leaked questions take the exams again? Our nursing students come mostly from poor families and we are penalizing them financially for the mistakes of those in power at the Professional Regulation Commission.
What kind of politics is at work in the Ecleo case, the rice smuggling issue at the Bureau of Customs and the illegal aliens issue at the Bureau of Immigration since all the accused are aligned with the powers that be? What about Councilor Gerardo Carillo’s interference with police action, Councilor Jun Pe’s behavior towards commercial sex workers and lately Supt. Pablo Labra’s arrogance towards the governor’s son?
Will we get to the truth in all these cases or will politics as usual get in the way?
This is just a sampling. We are really stuck with the politics of justice (an injustice) for a while. We must seriously wonder what will come first, our destruction or moral regeneration as a nation.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 30, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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