One of the justifications cited in the Supreme Court decision to allow the burial of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani is the factoid that his son, Bongbong, has become very popular with the electorate—first by becoming a senator and then garnering the second highest number of votes in the last vice presidential race (which was placed under protest on allegations of that he was cheated). That, in the high court’s crummy estimation, may be a sign that the nation has “forgiven” the Marcoses and, well, has “moved on.”
That kind of thinking reminds us of the Supreme Court’s reasoning in support of the so-called doctrine of condonation. Under this doctrine, politicians who plundered the national treasury and bought “popularity” with their loot, are deemed “forgiven” for their thievery once they are reelected. It took the Supreme Court half a century to see how “crazy” that doctrine really was and finally had it deleted from the books unceremoniously.
And now this? Exaltation by electoral acclamation? It seems old mindsets are really hard to shed. What kind of wishy-washy Supreme Court are the Filipino people dealing with in this country?
JAN VINCENT L. MARTINEZ, jvlopez_mart@yahoo.com