THE RECENT decision of the International Peoples’ Tribunal finding President Aquino and his administration guilty of rights violations provides additional ground for his “facing of the music” when he steps down. It validates what the people want: justice and accountability, self-evident principles the traditional legal fora have basically failed to deliver.
Thus, the clear and present danger is not the yearly rally by the discontented and disgusted hoi polloi during the final State of the Nation Address of the chief lord of a fascist government; it is the denial of a basic right to peaceably assemble, the exercise of which has been proven over the course of history to make things happen for the good of the oppressed and exploited many.
So when the Ombudsman, after a long wait, finally indicted the epitome of impunity in the person of Gen. Jovito Palparan in another horrible case of rights violations, it is more of an indictment of our justice system even as we grudgingly welcome it anyway. Yet this will never exonerate President Aquino of his own crimes against the people.
So, he can still spend his last year in office in either of these ways: ride it through, remain stubborn and out of touch. Or he can mitigate his accountability by rethinking, nay, just thinking, of what good he can really do to the people. Keep it simple, sir.
—EDRE U. OLALIA,
secretary general, National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers,
nupl2007@gmail.com