Miriam, Iglesia ni Cristo and Corona

Inquirer columnist Randy David spoke of a “gridlock culture” in his Feb. 29 commentary in relation to the Iglesia ni Cristo prayer rally that paralyzed Metro Manila traffic the previous day.

We might as well speak of a political gridlock arising from the propensity of some politicians, such as Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, to throw their weight around—literally and figuratively—as we have seen in the ongoing Corona impeachment trial.

Prosecution lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre is right: If you demand respect, you must see to it that you yourself deserve respect. Santiago has lost all credibility by lawyering for Corona even as she sits as a senator-judge. I think she is a teacher by negative example to the 3,000 Bar passers whom Chief Justice Renato Corona vainly tried to recruit to his defense team, but whose sense of propriety prevented them from doing so.

As to the Iglesia ni Cristo, they may be contributing to the political gridlock as well by mixing politics and religion, but after a fashion. Or not too well. They said that the Luneta prayer rally was a purely evangelical event. But we all know it plays politics come every election, in exchange for political concessions, such as appointments of members to certain positions. The group held a similar prayer rally that was an undisguised show of support for Erap when he was impeached in 2000, but look what happened. I wonder how it would react if Corona is unceremoniously booted out of his Padre Faura office kicking and screaming after the Senate impeachment court is through with him?

—NORMAN YANUS,

normanyanus@yahoo.com.ph

FIRST PUBLISHED HERE: http://opinion.inquirer.net/25785/miriam-inc-and-corona

Arroyo’s disappointing administration buries the Free of Information bill

Corruption is abetted by secrecy, opacity, and suppression of information, the ZTE deal, ‘Hello Garci,’ fertilizer scam, North Rail, C-5, and so many other sensational cases all substantiate this theme.

We are aware of the several social legislation that the (Gloria Macapagal) Arroyo had passed, strengthening human rights stature. But numbers are relative, and reputations are often tarnished by the timing of even one false move, one failure. And this administration disappoints tremendously with its nonchalance in burying the FOI Bill.

Corruption is abetted by secrecy, opacity, and suppression of information, the ZTE deal, ‘Hello Garci,’ fertilizer scam, North Rail, C-5, and so many other sensational cases all substantiate this theme. In a system of governance which allows the establishment of an allowance to self-correct and to rectify, I have to say that the FOI bill would have been the most trite and obvious solution to rampant corruption. And despite that, congress snuffed it out by a show, not of votes, but by mere implication, by procedure, wrought by those in absentia. It failed because of truancy. – CHR Chair Leila Delima (PhilStar, 6/11/2010)