Sunday, December 16, 2007 Malilong: Accusation against Gines Abellana By Frank Malilong The Other Side
UNTIL he came forward, I did not know that Gines Abellana was the lawyer alleged in published reports as having sent a policewoman client and former student to bribe the officers, who arrested another client for drug pushing, into downgrading the criminal charges. I am glad that he did that and in the process removed the cloud of doubt that hung over the entire legal community in Cebu.
As a veteran lawyer, Tatang (that’s how we, his close friends, call him) is familiar with the dictum that while the guilty man flees (or hides in anonymity), the innocent is as brave as a lion. That is probably why he chose to come out in the open.
I have known Tatang (that’s how his friends call him) for more than a quarter of a century and the only bad thing I have heard being said about him is that he arrives for his hearing in court late. So famous (notorious?) has his tardiness become that there was a joke circulating among lawyers some eight years ago about a newly retired judge loudly complaining, “kini si Gines, bisan sa kurom sa madyong, ma-late lang gihapon.”
No, I am not coming to the defense of a colleague. Abellana doesn’t need anyone to defend him. Those who are familiar with the distinction between entrapment and instigation and have read his account of what happened can easily see what I mean about him being a good defense attorney.
One thing bugs me though: How could a smart lawyer like Gines have allowed himself to be sucked into the situation that gave rise to the scandal, given how he got burned in a similar controversy not too long ago? It just doesn’t figure.
Is he so foolish or so reckless, as the police would like us to believe, as to author a deal that, he knows only too well, could explode in his face? Was he in fact set up? Was the arrest of the policewoman a simple case of bribery, as the police claim? Or was it part of a sinister plot to discredit him?
Gines has vowed to press charges against those who he said besmirched his reputation. I am sure that the police are also contemplating a suit against him. I hope that they’ll make good their plans and quickly so that an impartial tribunal can hear this conflicting claims and tell us who’s lying.
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OUCH!
Being compared to Ferdinand Marcos is bad enough but to be perceived as even more corrupt than the late dictator? That hurts.
The response from the Palace was predictable. Almost to a man, Malacañang apologists and court jesters disputed the credibility of the survey, alleging that it was commissioned by enemies of Mrs. Arroyo. One of them went as far--–and as ridiculously--–as saying that the survey could be part of the destabilization efforts against the administration.
Destabilization, my foot! The trouble with this administration is that every time it is confronted with the unpleasant truth, it points accusing fingers at every one except itself. With its uncanny habit of shooting itself in the foot every so often, this government does not need help from anyone to shake the foundations.
Instead of looking for excuses, Malacañang should study what lessons they can learn from the results of the survey. Don’t shoot the messenger, your honors. Read the message.
