Psychos

Let’s see… the person suffers from “grandiosity, thirst for unlimited power, sense of entitlement, exploiting other people to her advantage and lack of empathy.”

That’s a perfect description of the leadership of the House of Representatives. And thousands of other public officials, for that matter, even in several other countries.

But they’re not facing impeachment like Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, whose psychiatric test results taken in 2012 are among the issues being raised for her ouster. That description was part of her psychiatric evaluation.

 The psychiatrists who conducted the test described Sereno as dramatic and emotional. Again, just watch the live TV coverage of any congressional inquiry and you’ll see how many lawmakers fit the description.

 Sereno, according to the psychiatric assessment, “appears energetic and all smiles and agreeable, but with religious preoccupation in almost all significant aspects of her life. She projects a happy mood but has depressive markers, too.”

 This one sounds like many Catholic devotees in this country. And let’s be honest: who doesn’t have “depressive markers”?

 The psychiatric results were bared to lawmakers in an executive session. Now we’re sure that nothing can be kept confidential in such closed-door sessions.

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In my college psychology classes, I had fun learning about all the afflictions classified as mental or emotional disturbances that I had experienced. Every person on the planet, without exception, suffers some form of psychological disturbance at some point in life.

 There are people who think psychiatry is a pseudo science, or dismiss it outright as something on the level of mumbo jumbo. Psychiatric testing and psychological terms can be tricky. One of the favorite grounds cited for marriage annulment in this country is psychological incapacity. For such purpose, what does the phrase mean exactly?

 If it’s a question of intellectual capability, it’s good to remember that there can be a thin line between genius and insanity.

 As far as I know, a psychiatric test is an assessment of one’s fitness for a particular job or role, and the results are supposed to be kept strictly confidential. Some quarters insist that you can’t pass or fail such a test.

 On the other hand, it is possible for an examinee to manifest a strong violent streak or propensity for sexual deviance, or a psychopath’s lack of any sense of right or wrong. Based on such results, an examinee can be rejected for a job or role. Can this be described as flunking the test? Or is the more accurate description a failure to meet the required qualifications?

If there is a specific rule requiring a job applicant to obtain a particular score in a psychiatric exam, then falling short of that score can be described as failing the test. 

I know certain individuals who were rejected in their applications to join the Philippine National Police because they failed their psychiatric exam. But I’ve also been told that it’s possible to simply buy a positive psychiatric assessment for entry into the PNP.

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Sereno can seem rather loopy in her speech and behavior, but many people have personality quirks. She is not the first public official to be questioned about psychological fitness for the job. Noynoy Aquino faced similar questions when he was running for president, and even after he had won. So did Rodrigo Duterte.

How physically fit for high office is someone on fentanyl who thinks the answer to the drug menace is the mass extermination of suspects? Fentanyl, incidentally, is now at the top of the opioid targets of Donald Trump’s own war on drugs.

The late Miriam Defensor-Santiago laughed off questions about her mental health. Once during a meeting with journalists, she told us with a wide grin, “They call me Brenda!” Brenda was short for “brain damaged.” Her brother Benjamin, the former Armed Forces chief, also had a healthy sense of humor and liked to introduce himself as “the saner” Defensor.

You have to be batty to want to continue working in an office where all your colleagues want you out. If you don’t get stressed out from the open hostility, you must be suffering from some form of mental disorder.

Peer pressure alone, however, can’t unseat a chief justice. Only a Senate impeachment trial is specified under the Constitution. And senators have said that if the evidence is insufficient, they acquit.

The results of a psychiatric exam can’t constitute sufficient evidence. What may lead to conviction are lying and violation of laws on the filing of asset statements, or related offenses lumped under betrayal of public trust – one of the grounds for impeachment.

There’s also the accusation of tax evasion. Being found guilty by the Senate impeachment court can lead to a criminal indictment in a regular court. Conviction can cost Sereno, if not imprisonment, then her license to practice law. She may also be permanently disbarred from public office.

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One option is for Sereno to just step down and avoid an impeachment trial. This seems to be the objective of the protracted House fishing expedition. The super majority seems to be hoping she will follow the lead of Merceditas Gutierrez, who is enjoying peaceful retirement following her impeachment as ombudsman, or Andres Bautista.

But the resigned elections chairman is not enjoying his retirement and is facing criminal charges. Sereno might believe she is likelier to end up like Bautista rather than Gutierrez.

 Sereno also appears to believe strongly that the accusations against her are baseless. Going by her academic credentials, she probably also believes she deserves her position.

So the House should be ready with its case. The House prosecutors of former chief justice Renato Corona were skewered by his defense led by the formidable Serafin Cuevas – until Corona himself faced the court and admitted he did not declare $2.4 million and P80 million in bank deposits in his asset statements.

Sereno might be pinned down on a similar offense. But first, the House prosecution team must present solid evidence. Any congressman who thinks this is going to be easy needs to see a psychiatrist.

The Chief Justice is fighting for her life, and you can expect her to put up a spirited fight. It’s not a psychological disorder, but normal human instinct for survival.