Ah, Quit All

So, that’s two down and one more to go. I didn’t know she had three cases. I guess I was too caught up with the outrage of the injustice that I did not bother to mind the details. I got curious so I did a little research. Former Senator De Lima and her former driver, Ronnie Dayan have been acquitted of the charge of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading, on the ground of reasonable doubt. The first drug case against her was dismissed by the court in February 2021, which was tantamount to getting acquitted. The former senator and justice secretary faces life in prison if convicted of the remaining charge which is taking money from inmates inside the National Bilibid Prison in exchange for allowing them to sell drugs while she was Justice secretary from 2010 to 2015. (I feel like watching a suspense movie and being at the edge of my seat, gripping with what would happen next, hoping the good guy wins and the bad guys fall over and smack their faces deep on cow dung on the road.) De Lima has been in detention since 2017. That has been six years – more than half a decade. If she had a newborn child before going to jail, the baby would have been in Grade 1 now without having been with her mother in freedom. Could she still be convicted on the third case with the dismissal of the first and acquittal of the second? Would a conviction make sense? If she gets convicted on the remaining case, would not that be questionable? But, as it goes, we have to follow legal procedures. One more case to go, then former Sen. De Lima would be going up that same path to freedom that Vhong Navarro trod on a few months ago. (I heard Denise and Cedric quickly went out of the country after that acquittal.)

Who filed these cases against her anyway? Oh, it’s the Department of Justice itself, under its then Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II under the administration of not surprisingly, former President Duterte. (isn’t it a good thing that he’s out of power? Although, one could argue that not much has changed since the subsequent administration is an obviously an ally despite not having his direct endorsement, one could notice that there have been some little improvements.) So, it was DOJ under Vitaliano Aguirre II. Now, where have I heard that name before? Oh, now I remember. He’s the same person who cleared then Bureau of Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon in the P6.4-billion shabu shipment, dropped the charges on Peter Lim and self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, and schemed to place alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Napoles as state witness, among others. (What is it with Duterte’s people? You have the likes of Aguirre and Sol. Gen Jose Calida and the former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.)

That means it was the Filipino tax payer’s money which was spent, government facilities which were used, and government employees who were directed to work on each page and minute of working hour on filing these cases; the two of which have crumbled down, rendering all those work and time a regretful waste. We’re talking about time, effort and resources which should have been used for government service, to bring real criminals to justice, but was manipulated to prosecute to persecute an opponent who now before the world is being proven innocent. As it appears, the former DOJ of the previous administration just wasted the government’s mandate and resources for political persecution. In what other ways could they have done the same squandering of the government? In what ways are government people presently wasting government’s resources building cases and campaigns which would crumble in time?

Maybe, the cases were not meant to fulfill conviction. Maybe, the purpose has been satisfied for six years now. Maybe, the purpose is just to cause disaster to befall upon enemies. Maybe, it did not matter if the case would lead to conviction, the real purpose is to strike vengeance on political opponents, on those who try to expose evils of one political entity. Maybe, six years of false accusation and undeserved detention was the real intended resolution.

In recent interviews, former President Duterte stated acceptance of the acquittal; adding that he never interfered with the case in the first place. Wait a minute, wasn’t it he who started the accusations against then DOJ Secretary de Lima on her involvement on drugs? It was because than, as DOJ Secretary, De Lima was exposing Davao Death Squads. That actually started these all.

Proverbs 17:15: He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.