By George Evan Borinaga Cuadrillero
Back in elementary, we had this subject called HeKaSi, Heograpiya, Kasaysayan, at Sibika. It was there that I first learned about the three branches of government. The Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary. They were introduced to us as coequal branches, each one meant to balance the power of the others. The Executive enforces the laws. The Legislative creates them. And the Judiciary interprets what the law means. These were not just lessons in class, they were ideals that shaped our understanding of democracy.
But those ideals feel uncertain now.
The Supreme Court has made a ruling that changes how we understand the structure of our government. It declared the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte null and void, removed the Senate’s role as an impeachment court in this case, and rendered the one year rule ban applicable to her specific impeachment. The Court justified its decision by pointing to procedural technicalities, but the opposition believes this ruling has gone too far. To them, it weakens the principle of accountability and allows the Judiciary to intrude on the constitutional powers of the other branches.
What does this tell us, students, ordinary citizens, young people in universities, law students in state universities and private institutions, future members of the legal profession? What does this say to those of us quietly holding onto hope that our nation can still be built on justice?
Should we act now? Or do we wait in silence?
There are those already criticizing the ruling. Some are planning to go against it. But we must not move without thought. Now is not the time for reckless action. It is the time to think carefully, to examine the events unfolding before us. Emotion must not rule our decisions. The moment is still unfolding, and we need to be wise in how we respond.
We are living in difficult times. But the most dangerous threat may be from within, from how we allow misinformation to spread, from how we become passive, from how we let things slide. The real enemy may be our own forgetfulness, our own refusal to care. If we continue like this, we will be the ones who break our nation apart.
We must help rebuild this country, not for ourselves alone, but for others. The Preamble of our Constitution reminds us that we build this nation with the aid of Almighty God. Let us take that seriously. Let us ask for wisdom, for courage, for the strength to do what is right. I remember the words from Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen in one of his ponencias, “the end does not justify the means.” Those words should guide us now. Because in defending democracy, how we act matters just as much as what we aim to achieve.