Wednesday, September 12, 2007 Barrita: The verdict By Eddie O. Barrita Small Bites
TODAY, the long wait for the verdict of former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada’s P4-billion plunder case is over. Before noon, the Sandiganbayan justices will have decided whether Erap will move from his rest house to the Muntinlupa or the police will move out from his rest house.
Erap will now know which is more painful, the waiting or the verdict.
***
Erap said he is ready for the worst and is ready to go to Muntinlupa. I can almost remember farmer leader Crispin Beltran who led marches to seek land for farmers but was sent to Muntinlupa instead.
He said, “Ang hinihingi ko’y lupa, ang binigay sa akin, Muntinlupa.”
Well, if Erap is ready for Muntinlupa, he might have been tired of a life under house arrest.
***
Some 6,000 antiriot police and 2,000 Army men will secure the area around the Sandiganbayan when the verdict is handed down.
I don’t think the decision will spark an outrage among Erap’s supporters. But I can almost hear Erap’s lawyers texting their senior partner “Justice is done” and the senior partner texting back, “Appeal at once.”
***
A Sun.Star editorial has noted that Erap’s six-year long trial has put our justice system on trial. By now, people should have learned that a former president is more equal than others.
But only the Sandiganbayan can tell who is more guilty than others.
***
Camp Crame investigators will now look into the vigilante-style killings in Cebu City in their annual general inspection of the city’s police force. They have finally taken notice after 180 convicts and crime suspects were summarily executed in the city since December 2004.
The executioners, however, still have the option to move their executions outside of the city.
***
Cebu City Mayor Tommy Osmeña said it well when he urged the youth to assert themselves and follow the path of the late president Sergio Osmeña Sr.
“It is time for you young people to assert yourselves, believe in yourselves, and help lead our community to a brighter future,” he said during the celebration of Don Sergio’s 129th birth anniversary.
What he didn’t tell them was that in Cebu City, politicians, young and old alike, must be a member of Bando Osmena-Pundok Kauswagan to succeed.
