"x x x.
Now that Rene Corona is removed from his office through a process meriting keen public attention and opinion, and celebrated by most Filipinos as one singular achievement that drew global approval, we have to remember that the majority of the Supreme Court still sits as before, less one member. We also have to remember that the judiciary, the very practice of the legal profession, is not any less suspect as pliant, if not supportive, to the exercise of corruption. The impeachment trial of Rene Corona revealed the partisanship of the Judiciary, and the silence of most lambs in the legal profession. Many justices, judges and lawyers, including court employees openly supported Corona. They should understand that the vast majority of Filipinos, not less than 70%, who condemned Corona from the very beginning, condemned them as well.
Where, then, will reform in the judiciary come from? Who will be the first brave ones? Who among the thousands of judges and lawyers will speak and reach out to their colleagues, to their companeros, to begin an earnest and transparent move to cleans, not so much their ranks, but their values? Who will begin to preach that justice is more primal than law, that justice is, in fact, the only reason why there is a course and profession called law? Justice cannot be overtaken in value by legal form and language, only enhanced and strengthened by them. Justice must be a guarantee for all Filipinos, not a favor. Justice must be constant, never fickle.
How, then, will the people, beginning with the poor and the lowly, the weak and the marginalized, believe that they, too, are entitled to justice as much as their richer or more powerful counterparts in Philippine society? P-Noy cannot make this happen—only Justices, judges and lawyers can. P-Noy can crack the whip, but justice is not his alone to dispense, not in a democracy. Justice is a collective value and its primacy in our society must be a collective decision. And the judiciary is tasked most of all to lead the charge, so to speak.
The next Chief Justice need not be the wisest among legal minds, not even the most incorruptible, but the one who will set reform in the Judiciary as his or her most urgent crusade. It can only be the relentless pursuit of reform from within that can slowly build a new hope in people, build a new faith that justice, indeed, is the right of all Filipinos.
Let not change in the judiciary be triggered by force or intimidation, even if such comes from the people themselves. It is not hate that drives Filipinos to seek change, it is pure aspiration. Let hope, then, stoked by sincere efforts for reform from the inside, lead us all in a journey to our promised land where justice is the first of all guarantees.
x x x."
