The Philippine Online Chronicles

The past few days had been a rowdy ride for Philippine politics and for those who had been closely monitoring it. The tense chapter in the nation’s life unfolded without any hint. And we have the President and his cohorts to thank for bringing us into this badly scripted thriller by haphazardly pursuing a case against former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the last minute.

The turn of events was just too quick that news stories had very short shelf lives that were outlasted only by the testicle of Arroyo’s lawyer Ferdinand Topacio. The hullaballoo’s ending – Rep. Arroyo being served a warrant of arrest – was so abrupt that the move was hailed by government supporters as sign of the Aquino administration’s political will. On a closer look though, the haste was more of an act of desperation to save President Benigno Aquino III’s political capital.

What was saved by the warrant of arrest wasn’t really Topacio’s family jewels, as presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda jokingly said following the buzzer-beater performance of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court. It was the President’s balls that were saved.

On Nov. 15, former president Arroyo, together with her husband, almost left the country to seek medical treatment abroad amid allegations on electoral fraud and corruption. The Supreme Court (SC) greenlighted Rep. Arroyo’s travel abroad as it issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the watch list order separately imposed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Arroyo her husband Mike. But immigration officials defied the SC order and heeded the DOJ’s instructions as they prevented the Arroyos from boarding the plane. The shouting and showdown at the airport ended with a neck-braced Arroyo being brought back to St. Luke’s in Bonifacio Global City.

DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima defended the non-compliance to SC’s TRO by saying that the justice department had yet to receive a copy of the high court’s TRO. This is strange since the SC and the DOJ are neighbors along Padre Faura in Manila. In any case, De Lima managed to get away with her defense, a tactical move to buy time for the Aquino administration which had never filed any case against former president Arroyo despite its collection of anti-Arroyo diatribes during the past 500 days.

Indeed, the government was caught off-guard at that precise moment, with the travel ban against the Arroyos suspended and no legal quickfix at hand save for filing a motion for reconsideration on SC’s TRO. It merely relied on De Lima to carry on. President Aquino, meanwhile, stayed out of the public’s eye during this crucial period, except on the exact day he flew to Bali for the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) summit. He merely ordered his Cabinet to prepare for any eventuality.

On the morning of Nov. 18, three days after the DOJ aborted Arroyo’s trip abroad, the high court voted 8-5 during its special session to uphold its Nov. 15 TRO on the travel ban against Arroyo. Later in the afternoon, it would be found out that the justices actually voted six times on different matters. Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno clarified that the majority’s decision is that the TRO is “suspended pending compliance” with the condition stated in the earlier resolution.

But this did not really matter when the game-changer entered into the scene. To the public’s surprise, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) held an emergency en banc session as early as 7 a.m. last Friday. Comelec chair Sixto Brillantes even reportedly left the hospital to preside over the session hours ahead of the SC vote last Friday.  One of the commissioners admitted that the possibility of Arroyo leaving the country forced them to rush the decision. Electoral sabotage raps, the government’s very first case against Arroyo in more than 500 days, was readied and filed in lightning speed amid the looming SC decision. In a matter of hours, the Pasay City Regional Trial Court issued a warrant of arrest hot of the grill.

But then again, isn’t the Comelec supposedly an independent body that is separate from the executive and other branches? If it indeed it was part of the Aquino administration’s last ditch maneuvers to prevent the former president from leaving, isn’t it strange that it is actually now at the beck and call of the President? Such manifestation rips open suspicions as to how the electoral body would really be impartial in the coming 2013 midterm elections.

Apparently aware of the implications of its early Friday rush, the poll body, through its spokesperson James Jimenez, is now saying that the filing of electoral sabotage case against Rep. Arroyo is “only coincidental” with her attempted departure from the country. Of course, that is a lame way to clear the Comelec’s name. The poll body’s actions had already made the public believe that it was indeed an extension of Malacañang during such dire situation. Even the President couldn’t help but cite the filing of the electoral sabotage case as just the beginning of the drive to hold those accountable for corruption.

For all intents and purposes, the timing and haste by which the poll fraud case was carried through last Friday obviously serves to prevent Rep. Arroyo from the leaving the country. And while it is a welcome development for everyone who sought justice and accountability, the manner by which the Aquino administration rammed case invites more potshots from the Arroyo camp and legal experts.

Had Rep. Arroyo managed to leave the country last Friday, the President would have lost his balls in pursuing his anti-Arroyo rhetoric. His regime, which he built on tons of anti-Arroyo tirades since his inaugural speech, would have lost its momentum. Aquino’s sincerity in all his episodes of Arroyo-bashing would have been put in question. Anger would have spilled into the streets.

Understandly, the government saved Aquino’s balls in the best way it could, breaking standard rules and procedures, overriding bureaucracy drag, and overwhelming expectations. Which means that it can actually do away with snail-paced version of justice – not in the name of Hacienda Luisita farmers – but in the name of Aquino.

Photo from PresidentNoy facebook.