It Had to Be Done
A few days ago, I wrote a personal blog entry “Seizing the Day” expressing how I felt about signing the Impeachment Intervention authored by Manuel L. Quezon III. My entry is as follows:
Opportunities like this, to stand up and be counted, are few and far in between. People often contend there isn’t really much that can be done, that what we do is futile, and do nothing to serve the country. This is our moment now, a chance to show and prove that there are more to our words and opinions, that we do not just write for the sake of writing, that we do not speak for the sake of speaking. The things we do are not done to seek attention or prove that we are better or smarter. Rather, we do it because we know we have to.
What we are about to embark on might not amount to anything fruitful, but we hope it does. And despite the risks and complications, we will do what we have to do, because it has to be done. It might lead to nothing, but that is a risk we should take, because there is that chance that what is true, right, and just will prevail. That despite the complications and risks, our action will yield something good for the country.
And if it doesn’t, at least we tried, and tried really hard. We cannot just stand by in our comfortable little corner and watch as the chance to do something passes by just because it won’t lead to anything anyway. We take every chance we can get and hope for the best.
It has to be done.
Today, I, Maria Abella Jose, resident of Davao City, would like to stress following points as stated in the Impeachment Intervention document:
- 2. The President of the Philippines, while elected for a fixed term, is always accountable to the public, in whom sovereignty resides. In order to provide an opportunity for exacting accountability, and providing relief to the citizenry if a chief executive proves irresponsible, criminal, or tyrannical, that the Constitution of the Philippines further provides, in Article XI, Sec.2 for the impeachment and trial of the President of the Philippines “for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust, ” and the consequent immediate dismissal from office of any chief executive proven guilty of any or all of these offenses.
- 4. We assert that while the privilege of the House of Representatives, to investigate and approve or reject proposed articles of impeachment, is an absolute privilege, we also assert that the House of Representatives has a fundamental obligation to make any such investigations and determinations as thorough as possible; that it cannot ignore any information or pleadings that would serve to fortify a case against the President of the Philippines; for the determination of culpability, while a political process, is not merely a question of votes for or against any proposed articles, but rather, a process that must come out of a non-partisan effort to evaluate charges, hear the arguments of the proponents and opponents of any such charges, and determine whether they deserve to be articles of impeachment sent to the Senate for trial or not.
- 9. The intervenors believe that the President ought to be impeached with regard to the matter of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (“MOA-AD”), which sought to create the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (“BJE”)…. it was, in sum, a policy of such deceit and recklessness, as to demonstrate her consecration, not to the service of the nation, but to a policy calculated for personal political advantage, to the detriment of the nation at large.
- 19. The purely political considerations for the resumption of peace talks resulted in the negotiations being pursued without the benefit of any effort to secure a national consensus on the particulars of any peace agreement. The President of the Philippines did not pursue the peace process with clear goals in mind; neither did she undertake the negotiations with her Constitutional obligations in mind. The negotiations were marked by inconsistencies on her part, because of the absence of any clear constitutional compass. As a consequence of this the peace talks with the MILF were undertaken with purely tactical political goals in mind, and not from a strategic orientation informed by the Constitution.
- 26. Any agreement with respect to the creation of an entity such as BJE, not to mention the giving away of a part of the territory of the Philippines is certainly of public interest. Thus, the people have the right — as it is the duty of the government — to be informed of the contents and details of said MOA. This is particularly true for citizens who are residents of Mindanao
- 32. At the outset, it must be remembered that ours is a unitary form of government, not a federal state. Being so, any form of autonomy granted to any political body such as the BJE will necessarily be limited and confined within the extent allowed by the central authority and the Constitution.
- 44. The President of the Philippines, in going against the legal advice of her own officials, and in acting in a manner calculated to alarm the public, destabilize public order and security, fan the flames of ethnic and religious mistrust, behaved so irresponsibly and willfully as to render her unfit for office. For her policies, for which she is responsible and accountable, have set back the peace process, inflamed radical sentiments, fostered division and hostility among our people, caused misery and untold suffering to innocent civilians, and needlessly imperiled the lives of members of our armed forces and police, and caused great harm to the economic stability of Mindanao and the entire Philippines.
- 45. Indubitably, the act of respondent in authorizing the negotiation of the constitutionally infirm MOA-AD, and subsequently approving the same, establishes her blatant, willful, and flagrant disregard of our Constitution. She clearly violated the Constitution, which she swore to preserve and defend, for which, she must be impeached and brought to trial.
I am not against my Muslim brothers or against them getting the peace and justice they deserve. Rather, I believe that the BJE – MOA is an unconstitutional document and act, that is a betrayal of the trust of the Filipino people, and run contrary to the welfare and development of this country and its people. Moreover, I believe that it is a betrayal to our Muslim brothers who have been made to believe that the BJE – MOA was created to benefit them.
I signed the intervention because moments like this, when we are called to stand up and fight, do something concrete and tangible for this country, are few and far in between. And in this crazy country where politicians shift sides every so often, and issues are blurred by personalities and “politics,” it is hard to have something you truly believe in and worth fighting for. For me, as (I think) with the others who signed, this is one issue I can easily stand up and fight for.
And if I did let the moment pass by, without grabbing the chance to be more than just a “critic” or a “hater,” I would have never forgiven myself. Because I know, I believe in this cause, I know what is true, right, and just. This is one moment when the line between right and wrong is not blurred. This issomething I am passionate about, not only because I am a Mindanaoan, but more importantly, I am a Filipino.
There was a point when I was hesitant and apprehensive, unsure of what I was a about to do, worried of the consequences and risks, but I realized it had to be done.
And now I issue this challenge to our congressmen, our representatives who were elected to represent the Filipinos and their aspirations and ideals, whose salaries are paid for by the taxes of hardworking Filipinos, are you willing and strong enough to do WHAT HAS TO BE DONE? Are you with us in fighting for what is true, right, and just? Or will you let the moment pass you by because of your political aspirations and lack of conviction?
Acknowledgment to the other signatories Marck, Arbet, Richard Rivera, Edwin Lacierda, and Jeremy Gatdula. And thanks to the other bloggers and members of our community who supported and continue to support us.
Coverage at Inquirer.net and GMA TV News and on Manolo’s column about the Intervention for the Prosecution.
PBA Verifiation text: PBA09s9op2s9
10 Responses to “It Had to Be Done”
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28 years old from Davao City, blogging since 2004. :)
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Well done Ria! Woot!
Mabuhay ka Ria Jose
I’m proud to have signed that document with you, Ria.
Marck
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you make me proud to be associated with you.
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maria jose of Pisay Davao?
Yes, it’s me.
You may impeach the president, but certainly you cannot impeach the hopelessness of this nation. Sure, i am a skeptic but that is precisely the point, after 2 ousted presidents, we are still in the dark. this may be a “making of history”, as in the case of Europe where they hanged quite a number of monarchs, so it might as well that we imitate that. Estrada was corrupt, and where is he? in his mansion, that’s right. Marcos was corrupt and where is he? in his damn cold coffin, but still inside a mansion though. Those two ought to be hanged. But what are we doing? we are trying to again impeach a president, and after that, leave her where she really wants – good retirement; you know, a family where she could see her grand-children grow and his sons/daughters fatten themselves. She may be humiliated, but then again, what is humiliation and integrity in Philippine Politics – so long as you have the money, you can grease it. I say that a completely different approach be taken. Let us imitate Cuba. The problem is again, whence is this true ruler – not from the military, they are too corrupted now. From the academe? no, the state of education is in decline, and besides students now do not see cheating as a sign of bad character but rather the opposite. oh, from the business world? ha, capitalists.
oh well…I hope this does not lead to nothing – or rather an end, that is, a real purpose is already modeled, so that we are not left hanging even if this succeeds.
“what ought to be done now, as it seems just to me, is not to impeach the philippine president; and this goes to all politicians (whether dead or alive) of her caliber, those who supposedly employ (or employed) detestable political methods. What is just, and practicable, is to rid her of any future source of happiness – for instance, let us make it impossible for her to enjoy the life of retirement: to see his grandchildren grow, to see her children succeed. this does not necessarily mean that we murder her, that is not humane; or we punish the lives of those close to her heart but are nonetheless innocent. The most practical method, perhaps, is to imprison her for life (but Estrada had managed to escape the nuisances of life inside a Philippine penal colony, unlike some of our innocent inmates, mis-tried precisely because of poverty and social injustices) and to re-acquire his/her ill-begotten assets (the accountants had failed to make this distinction, i claim, in the case of marcos, the reason for which i do not think as not obvious).
The idea of settlement and inner-peace should be stripped from them. That is simply just, considering the misery that they have caused us, considering the moments where they thought they have made a fool out of us. Ha – who is the fool now, eh? That should be the method of punishment after, of course, she is found guilty in the process of impeachment. But why go through all that process?”
You be the judge for this line of reasoning.