Hacienda Luisita vs. Supreme Court

Back to status quo
FROM A DISTANCE
By Carmen N. Pedrosa
(The Philippine Star)
Updated May 12, 2012 12:00 AM

It is ironic but true. The more we deal with alleged “details” in the Corona impeachment the more we are led away from the essential truth.

The battle is between the farmers of Hacienda Luisita and Philippine oligarchy. CJ Renato Corona represents the farmers because the SC decision to return land belonging to them became final and executory under his leadership.

All other issues pale in the face of what will be achieved by the Philippine nation if CJ Corona is acquitted. No wonder there is a determined push to make sure that Corona is convicted.

Two complainants against Corona before the Office of the Ombudsman claimed they did not accuse the Chief Justice of having $10 million in deposits.

One of the complainants, former Rep. Risa Hontiveros was quoted in media websites: “I didn’t say, and we who signed the letter-complaint did not say and did not mention, any amount of $10 million. Why then did it appear in media?”

President Aquino, because he is a member of the family owning Hacienda Luisita, represents the Philippine oligarchy that runs our country.

If CJ Corona is acquitted, the farmers win, democracy wins. If CJ Corona is convicted, the Hacienda Luisita owners win, oligarchy wins. That to me is simplest way to describe the issue facing the country in this impeachment trial.

We are at the crossroads in the shaping of our nation – either we change or we retain the status quo of an unjust structure. If we change it is the many who will benefit. If we retain the status quo it is the few. We will continue with a government of the elite, by the elite and for the elite. This is the unjust structure of our society that has kept us poor for centuries. Which way should we go?

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With a court composed of senator-judges of an elitist system, it would be too optimistic to think that these men and women would give up their control of power and wealth. Remember that these men and women became powerful and wealthy through the present system that ensures the status quo. Unless the electorate can launch a threat to their elections they can be expected to decide against Corona and the SC’s decision in favor of the farmers. But miracles happen. That is why I am averse to counting which way the votes of the senator judges will go. I remain focused on what we will achieve if we uphold CJ Renato Corona and the Supreme Court. In upholding him we achieve a momentous breakthrough in our struggle for a more just society.

Chief Justice Renato Corona cannot escape the cultural and political context of the same system of his accusers. He also belongs to it and that is why the case against him is about wealth and property. But by a twist of fate the impeachment case against him could unhinge the social and political structure of our country. He may never have thought or planned it this way but his fate could be an important catalyst in structural reform. The question remains. What should we do when the powerful steal property from the powerless?

Then again think how long the case of the farmers against Hacienda Luisita has been going on? Decades. No one had ever thought it would be possible for the poor to threaten the wealthy. If the farmers fail this time we face yet again the postponement of a just society for decades, even generations. For this column that is the most important consideration — Hacienda Luisita vs. the Supreme Court is the conflict, but it could also be the breakthrough needed by the nation for a more level-playing field.

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