‘Above suspicion’ tenet now passé?

SUPREME COURT Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta is the brother of Vissia Marie P. Aldon, the incumbent human resources development officer of Makati City. She was earlier ordered arrested by the Senate blue ribbon committee for not heeding its subpoena. Her own defiance was obviously in sync with the Binay family’s show of total contempt toward the Senate.

But because she later changed her mind, she was no longer put under arrest. She testified last July 7, and in answer to Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III’s by-the-way questioning, she admitted that Justice Peralta is her brother. That should raise a red flag! Willy-nilly, her influence on a sibling cannot be ruled out. That’s just being realistic about it.

If Justice Peralta has not yet seen fit to voluntarily inhibit himself, let there be a public outcry to remind him that taking any part in the resolution of the pending case against suspended Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay will only fuel unsavory speculations about his personal character and integrity. Magistrates—and honorable justices of the Supreme Court of all people—should set the example of what being “above suspicion” means! Or is that ethical tenet now passé?

—GABRIELLE MICHELLE M. AGUILLERA, [email protected]