Mob rule builds up anew
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The voluminous Sandiganbayan decision approving the plea bargain agreement between former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia and the prosecutors said a lot about Noynoy and his allies’ lack of respect for legal procedures as they would rather appeal to the emotions of the public when it comes to delicate legal issues.
Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz was also on the Sandiganbayan’s back since the start of its deliberation on the Garcia case, seeking its intervention in the case which was handled from the start by the prosecutors in the Office of the Ombudsman.
The Sandiganbayan rejected the appeal of Cadiz to represent the government in the case.
Among the charges raised by the Sandiganbayan against Cadiz was his and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG)’s efforts to preempt the decision on the Garcia agreement and his resorting to “fallacy” in claiming the graft court did not follow legal requirements or guidelines in the plea bargaining.
It said that Cadiz had made up his mind on the Sandiganbayan’s defects even before it has written the decision on the plea bargain deal.
“The actuation of the OSG can be likened to a baseball umpire who before the pitcher could throw the ball has, in a quivering voice, already shouted strike,” the Sandiganbayan complained.
It also indicated that the OSG also raised the issue that the plea bargain deal appears to be a compromise for the convenience of Garcia.
“This statement being not supported by a shred of explanation is one of the instances where the OSG resorted to an appeal to the emotions,” according to the Sandiganbayan.
The moment the ruling was made public, Noynoy and his wards were imputing foul motives behind the approval of the agreement.
The Sandiganbayan was also persistent in asserting that state prosecutors, using the case prepared by Noynoy ally, former Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, was not able to prove the guilt of Garcia beyond reasonable doubt.
The Sandiganbayan also noted that the only evidence that the prosecution relied on to pursue the plunder case against Garcia was the handwritten sworn testimony of his wife Clarita Garcia as well as the testimony of state auditor Heidi Mendoza.
The anti-graft court noted that by this failure, the case was bound to be either dismissed by the court on its own initiative or dismissed through a demurrer to evidence filed by Garcia that would eventually result in his acquittal.
What was not proven conclusively was Garcia’s alleged amassing of P303 million despite the pieces of evidence presented by Garcia’s wife and Mendoza.
In sum, the Sandiganbayan said the weak case presented before it was a compelling factor for its approval of the Ombudsman’s agreement with Garcia to save the government from ending up with an empty bag over the defective plunder case against the former general.
It was a classic example of the value of a bird on a hand against two in the bush, which Marcelo’s weak case would have automatically let loose.
Noynoy recently ordered Cadiz to appeal the decision on the Garcia case and possibly elevate it to the Supreme Court, which may prove to be yet another instance of Noynoy and his allies going into another demonization campaign against the high court to get the justices to rule the way Noynoy wants it ruled, which is the SC overturning the Sandiganbayan decision.
In time, the conflict between the judiciary and Noynoy and his band of Yellows would come to a head with the likely and predictable face off happening between nearly the whole leadership of the judiciary, including the SC justices being pitted against Noynoy and his Yellow mob.
It would be a battle between emotion and rule of law.
Woe to the nation if Noynoy and his mob prevail.
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