Why you should wear white

Wear white tomorrow. This is in response to the “Red Mondays” that some Supreme Court justices, Supreme Court officers (Midas Marquez, is that you?), judges and court employees who don’t want either an impeachment trial for Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno or her return to the high court are calling for via a manifesto.

The “Red Monday” marks a new, baser nadir (if that were possible) for the judicial system, since the days of the umbrella-bearing Chief Justice Enrique Fernando, the bar exam scandals, and even the impeachment and ouster of Chief Justice Renato Corona. To the many who share the opinion that none of the charges being raised against Sereno fall within even the broadest parameters of “impeachable,” the thought that our supposedly wise justices and judges would force her ouster without benefit of a trial or giving her the proverbial “day in court” is a new black mark that will tarnish the image of our courts, perhaps irreparably.

It’s been argued that by voluntarily stepping down before she has to face the Senate impeachment court, the Chief Justice would be “sparing” the justice system undue embarrassment and public scrutiny. But Sereno has issued many public statements that she believes she did nothing wrong, much less an offense deserving of impeachment. So, in fact, by demanding that the process be followed to its logical and just conclusion, the Chief Justice is shoring up the reputation not just of the judicial system but also of our democratic systems. Despite ample evidence to the contrary, she still apparently believes she will find justice from our senators, despite the tremendous political pressures being made to bear on our legislators, and the vicious war being waged against her on traditional as well as social media.

Thus, the call to wear white tomorrow! By wearing white, we will all show the world that we refuse to stand idly by while the powers-that-be run roughshod over our democratic institutions, the Supreme Court foremost among them.

We have now seen how the administration has turned the House of Representatives, and, to a certain extent, the Senate, from their time-honored role as an oversight against the excesses of the executive branch to their present status as doormats counted upon to do the President’s bidding.

In our democracy, the Supreme Court now stands as the last bastion of independence, but even this role has been tarnished, if not dirtied outright, by recent decisions that seemed to have the justices bending over backward to accommodate Malacañang’s wishes. But it seems even a compliant majority in the Supreme Court was not enough for the administration. It needed to see an independent Chief Justice hounded out of office.

But only if we, the people, let them!

So once again, wear white tomorrow and every Monday thereafter!

This is not my original idea. I am merely echoing the call made by concerned women—many of them sisters in TOWNS who recently issued a statement of support for Sereno—for all those supporting her, and not just her but also the principles of democracy, fairness, and justice, to wear white on Mondays, take pictures of themselves, and post their pictures on FB, with the hashtag #whiteMonday and #dontresignCJ.

By the way, this is just one simple step that ordinary folk can take to prevent the utter destruction of the system of checks and balances that our founders established when they opted for democracy for this country.

To establish and protect that democracy, hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of Filipino men and women—patriots all—sacrificed their lives to resist invaders and defend the country. Self-sacrifice is not demanded of us now, save perhaps for the thousands killed by way of the “Tokhang” campaign. But what is being asked of us is a sense of involvement in the affairs of the country. A sense of commitment to the values that shaped us as Filipinos. And a sense of loyalty and love for our country that translates to sacrifices big and small, gestures major and minor, including, yes, wearing white on Mondays!