By Atty. Dino de Leon, human rights lawyer
(Editor’s Note: This press release was revised into a first-person narrative)
We’ve seen Jinggoy being sent to jail before. We have seen it in the case of Bong Revilla. Re-take nanaman ito (This is happening all over again).
The credibility of our country’s justice system is now on the line. Papasa na ba ang ating mga institusyon sa pagpapanagot sa mga korap at nagmamalabis (Will our institutions finally pass the test of holding the corrupt and abusive accountable)?
As a human rights and public interest lawyer, I can tell you that Filipinos have grown tired of seeing powerful officials evade accountability despite serious allegations and years of legal proceedings. Allowing the accused to escape punishment again would send the exact wrong message to the public and further weaken trust in the institutions tasked with fighting corruption.
I hope the day will come that we can fully and truly rely on our entire justice system — from law enforcement, prosecution, to the courts — in making sure that, indeed, crime does not pay. Having served as one of former senator Leila de Lima’s legal counsels and helping secure her acquittal in all her cases, I must stress that the Sandiganbayan needs to prove it can hold influential personalities accountable, regardless of their political connections or public stature.
They have escaped before. We should not let that happen again.
I have warned before that repeatedly failing to convict high-profile corruption suspects will only deepen public cynicism toward the justice system. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Eh, fool me thrice? Masokista na yata tawag dun (I think that’s already called being a masochist).
These cases are going to have far-reaching political implications heading into the 2028 elections. The public is closely watching whether our country’s institutions are still capable of exacting accountability from powerful political families and personalities. I believe the outcome of these corruption cases, alongside the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, may very well define how Filipinos vote in our next presidential elections.
The Filipino people are watching whether our institutions still work, whether corruption still has consequences and whether abuse of power can still be punished. Ultimately, it’s up to us to fight for the kind of country we think we deserve.
