Just as the viruses of kleptocracy and insidious power play are plaguing the government bureaucracy it is heartening to note that the Judiciary remains steadfast and independent.
Watching how the Legislative and Executive branches are conniving to stay in power and squander the money in the government treasury, the trust funds, and the proceeds from the sale of gold bullions in the Central Bank, the Judiciary has raised a red flag at the crossroads, one road that leads to a failed state and the other to a rough path to recovery.
It’s like being pushed to the edge of hopelessness and helplessness and suddenly someone throws a rope to save our nation from kingdom come.
Yes, Associate Supreme Court Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier has thrown out that rope that holds the hope the pillaging of the government treasury and the reserve funds of, among others, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC), will stop.
To quote her verbatim in the case of PhilHealth: “Reserve funds are sacred, are untouchable.”
Which reminds us that while there are three branches in a democratic government, the Judiciary is excluded from the bureaucracy and is independent of the two other branches. In this instance the rights and interest of the citizens are protected.
The Supreme Court is the last and strongest bulwark of democracy in the country. The political forces that are fighting valiantly against the present dispensation are overwhelmed by the strange conclave of tenants of Malacañang and the legislative characters of varied ideological persuasions that have embraced each other — one to stave off their extinction by agreeing to be the attack dogs, and the other the hungry bloodsuckers who sneaked blank budget items into the General Appropriation Act which the President later signed into law.
Exposed by former President Rodrigo R. Duterte and Davao City Representative Sid Ungab, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin denied there were blanks while President Bongbong Marcos branded his predecessor a liar.
Bersamin, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, is now part of the government bureaucracy and along with the newly appointed Undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Office, Claire Castro, they did a duet tagging PRRD as a purveyor of fake news.
The Supreme Court justices with Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo have demonstrated their independence and impartiality. A co-equal branch of the executive and legislative, the Judiciary has been a hindrance to the abuse of bureaucratic power and authority.
The scenario in the coming days will not only be a clash of legal minds but a public dissection of corruption and the corrupt. The judicial scalpel may yet save our beloved country from political and bureaucratic gangrene.