Senate ‘prosecutors’ closed to VP’s side of story

It is one thing to defend oneself before an impartial court of law where one’s guilt or innocence may be established through evidence, and another matter to face certain conviction in a kangaroo court.

The martyred Sen. Ninoy Aquino knew this too well to give his acquiescence to being tried by Marcos’ military tribunal—a situation no different from the one being faced by Vice President Jejomar Binay vis-à-vis a subcommittee of the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing allegations of corruption against his family.

I am writing this in response to Neal Cruz’s Oct. 6 Opinion column in which he claimed that Binay should attend the Senate subcommittee’s hearings on the allegations.

Had the Senate subcommittee invited the Vice President on its very first hearing, I would have been 100-percent supportive of Binay appearing there to confront his detractors and to give his side on the issues raised.

But having seen the tenor of the questions and statements that had been given thus far by members of the subcommittee—threatening those identified with the Binays but patronizing the Binays’ critics—I daresay that there’s no point in VP Binay appearing before the Senate subcommittee.

Clearly, instead of showing an air of impartiality as expected of any legislative public hearing, the subcommittee has already prejudged the guilt of the Binays. Intent on acting as prosecutor, jury and judge against the Binays, the subcommittee can no longer be expected to keep an open mind on the explanations that the Vice President may give.

I think the Binays can get a fair shake in a court of law or even in the court of public opinion, than at the politically charged and farcical hearings we are now seeing at the Senate.

—MELVIN QUISTO,

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