IF the ombudsman will reject the motion for reconsideration, from former president Noynoy Aquino and his two co-respondents and from the complainant anti-crime group, the charge will only be for usurpation of functions and violation of ant-graft law. Not for reckless imprudence resulting in 44 homicides.
Good for PNoy on both defending the case and taking the risk of imprisonment in the Mamasapano massacre.
The usurpation charge can fall for the reason that PNoy can prove he was merely consulting then suspended PNP chief Alan Purisima. The charge is silly, President Duterte even commented, “a president could consult anyone.” And if there’s no usurpation, there’s no graft, which rests on the usurpation charge.
And PNoy also gets off the risk of being jailed for 176 years (four years for each count of homicide).
Instead, there’s just the jail-time risk of six to 15 years (for graft) and six months to 10 years (for usurpation).
The ombudsman must love PNoy.
It was no joke
Calling up the Department of Education and seven public schools in Cebu City and telling them a bomb would go off and “take the kids out” was no joke.
It can be prosecuted under the Anti-Bomb Joke Law. The presidential decree can’t punish bomb jokes but this time it’s a patently malicious hoax, maybe even a dry-run of a possible future mischief.
That was no joke last July 18; it created panic, mostly among parents who couldn’t be controlled and tried to force their way into schools where their children were.
The problem is identifying the culprit and proving that he or she caused it. The phone owner to whom the calls were traced, a woman in Ilagan City, Isabela, said she lost the phone two months ago.
TIP US OFF. TELL US ABOUT IT.
[paseares@gmail.com]