Last Sunday’s Sinulog celebration went very well except for one incident, the burglary that took place immediately after the Sinulog parade when everybody was sleeping and resting after a hard day’s work. One person stood out as the main suspect, Joselyndo Jabagat, the private security guard on duty who was assigned to watch the administration office of the Cebu City Sports Center.
He’s been a watchman there for about about 15 years already. Evidence against him is all circumstantial. More and stronger evidence is needed to pinpoint the culprit in the loss of P1.66 million in cash. Some commentators heavily criticize Sinulog Foundation Executive Director Ricky Ballesteros for depositing such a big amount of money in the vault though Mr. Ballesteros already explained it was an exceptional case. Cebu City Police Chief Melvin Buenafe is also getting brickbats for alleged sloppy investigation and zeroing in on Jabagat.
I think the criticism is still premature. The investigation is still in progress. Initial findings of the police are supported by testimonies of some witnesses. I would suggest that we wait for the final result of the police inquiry and let the police do their job.
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Finally many have witnessed the impeachment trial of the Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, which is still unfolding. Initially, it’s clear that the defense counsel is clobbering the prosecution. While both panels have lawyers who graduated from premier law schools, the defense counsel is packed with veteran trial lawyers.
The prosecution panel is filled with young lawyers who may lack experience that comes from trial practice. We saw in the proceedings how the teacher Justice Serafin Cuevas lectured his former student Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga. To ordinary viewers, the impeachment trial has become boring already. The hearing is dominated by objections from the defense panel and has become so highly technical that many people have lost interest following the televised sessions. People must understand that the defense is doing what it was hired for, and deliberately see to it that they object to all actions of the prosecution .Understandably many are running out of patience, especially those who just want to know the truth even among members of the Senate-jurors.
There is the question about the role of the Senate-jurors. Defense lawyers in a way criticized Sen. Franklin Drilon for allegedly helping the prosecution in getting the witness to produce a document in his possession but was reluctant to give a copy to the Senate.
Then there is Sen. Kiko Pangilinan who also asked about the nature of disclosure of the SLAN. That made a witness acknowledge that her action and that of the Supreme Court was tantamount to non-disclosure to the public.
It’s good for everyone to know that the impeachment trial is more a political than a legal process. Senate-jurors have the right to ask questions to help them clarify and search for the truth though many of them try to appear unbiased and nonpartisan. We must also remember that the senators come from different political parties and loyalties so it’s expected that some would show their political colors.
Senators Drilon and Pangilinan did not side with the prosecution but to help them clarify some testimonies in their search for the truth. We should not begrudge them for their effort. It’s that many of us are watching the proceedings. It’s an education by itself, especially for my college students in Parliamentary Procedure who study the process and application of some procedure in the impeachment trial. Even law students get to learn a neat lesson about law and evidence in the impeachment trial.