Political color

The Supreme Court (SC) ruling in the case of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) is not actually as controversial as to attract so much publicity. It is hugging the headlines for several days now only because of a misunderstanding of the decision-making process in the SC and because politics are being injected into it. Obviously, the parties rather than the issues involved are the major cause of several controversies surrounding it.

Immediately noticeable is the excessive media coverage of the promulgation of the decision. When the SC spokesman announced the 11-4 decision of the SC justices reversing the Sandiganbayan ruling on GMA’s demurrer to evidence and ordering her immediate release, people expected that she will be set free right away. This is a wrong impression.

 Actually, the announcement is only about the result of the SC Justices’ voting after deliberation on GMA’s petition and the dispositive portion of the decision. Her release will happen only when the main decision written by one of the 11 justices called the ponente concurred in by the 10 others, as well as the opinions of the four dissenting justices have been released. Obviously this will take several days more. This is the usual procedure in all other SC cases.

Perhaps, the misunderstanding and misimpression would not have occurred if the dispositive portion of the decision was announced simultaneously with the release of main decision certified by the SC Chief Justice. In this way, the promulgation and execution of the decision will be done simultaneously so as not to cause too much controversy. But the SC spokesman said that he announced the dispositive portion to avoid speculations and loose talks circulating on the decision. This reason is indeed plausible.

Speculations about this case have really been circulating especially on the parties involved. Actually this is a plunder case filed by the “People of the Philippines” represented by the Ombudsman against former President GMA together with other PCSO officials on the misuse of P366 million PCSO funds during her term which ended way back last 2010. It was allegedly filed right after Aquino III assumed office as one of his moves to impress the public that he was sincere and determined in his fight against graft and corruption.

But the timing of the filing and the Ombudsman who filed it somehow gave political color to the case. Conchita Carpio-Morales was the former SC Justice before whom Aquino III took his oath as President. She was appointed by Aquino III to replace former Ombudsman Gutierrez who was impeached apparently upon Aquino III’s instigation. The public perception then, until now, is that Aquino III kicked out Gutierrez as Ombudsman to clear the way for the filing of the plunder case against Arroyo; that such case is not really one of the moves to show Aquino III’s sincerity and determination to fight graft and corruption but a continuing political fight between Aquino III and Arroyo that has dragged until now when Aquino III’s term has already expired.

The current stance of Ombudsman Morales after the SC ruling in favor of Arroyo all the more confirmed these on-going speculations. Morales said that her Office is investigating another plunder case against Arroyo also arising from the latter’s alleged misuse of PCSO funds amounting to more than P50 million from 2004 to 2007. This alleged plunder case happened more than 12 years ago. The scandalously long delay not only shows inefficiency in the performance of her function as Ombudsman but also a denial of the right to speedy trial and disposition of the case. Based on well established jurisprudence enunciated in the case of Tatad vs. Ombudsman, this case will surely be dismissed. Morales should just forget about it. She will just be stressing how slow she has been doing her job.

Her single minded determination to go after Arroyo is more manifest in her reaction to the recent SC ruling on the plunder case against the latter for the alleged misuse of P366 million PCSO funds. She assails the SC decision granting Arroyo’s demurrer to evidence and insists that they were able to present strong evidence in the Sandiganbayan consisting 630 documentary exhibits and testimonies of witnesses reflected in 43 transcripts of stenographic notes. So she announced that they will appeal to the SC to reverse its ruling. This is an erroneous stance.

First of all the strength of the evidence is measured not by their quantity but more by their quality. No matter how many documents or witnesses are presented the evidence will not be considered strong enough if they do not prove with moral certainty and beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the accused. In this case, the SC already found that the evidence presented by the Ombudsman is not adequate to sustain a finding of guilt.

Secondly, the Ombudsman can no longer asked for a reconsideration of the SC decision. This decision reversed the Sandiganbayan ruling denying Arroyo’s demurrer to evidence. Demurrer is a remedy given the accused to ask for the dismissal of the case after the prosecution has presented its evidence and rested its case. It is a tool afforded an accused precisely to expedite the disposition of the case. If the demurrer is granted, the accused is already acquitted. In this case, the Sandiganbayan denied Arroyo’s demurrer but the SC reversed such ruling and granted the demurrer. This means that Arroyo is already acquitted of the plunder charge against her. Once the court grants the demurrer, the grant amounts to an acquittal and further appeal on the judgment of acquittal amounts to double jeopardy and violates the constitutional right of the accused (People vs. Sandiganbayan 665 SCRA, 89). The Ombudsman should know this basic rule and should be the first one to observe it.

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