Last Thursday,  19 January 2012, at the annual prospects for the Philippines conference of FOCAP or Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines held at the Mandarin Hotel in Makati, Vice President Jejomar C. Binay who was keynote speaker, spoke on “The Rough Road to Change,” the theme of the forum. Since the national issue of the day is the impeachment trial, the Vice President touched on the subject only briefly and at the end of his speech. Actually, the audience, comprised of foreign media, embassy officials, and some corporations’ representatives, were really waiting to hear his views on the issue and the VP did not disappoint them.  Here is what he said:  “But for democracy to work, we need Democrats who will make its institutions work.  Even as we meet here today, this thesis is being tested in the Senate, where the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona is taking place.

“This is the second time in 12 years that we are witnessing such a process.  In 2000, the first Senate impeachment trial was held against a sitting president, Joseph Ejercito Estrada.  That trial, however, was not completed.  The prosecution had wanted the impeachment court to admit certain evidence volunteered by outside parties without a court subpoena, and intended to prove a charge which, in the judgment of the majority of the Senator-Judges, was not in the original articles of impeachment.  When the impeachment court refused to admit the ‘evidence,’ the prosecutors walked out, and the issue was finally decided against Estrada by the fiercely anti-Estrada crowd at EDSA.

“Many of us were euphoric about the decision.  But it took the rest of the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo presidency to make everyone realize that the constitutional shortcut was a ruinous mistake.  It was wrong to have allowed enraged public opinion, rather than due process and the rule of law, to take control of the constitutional process, and to HAVE ALLOWED the impeachment trial to be aborted because of pressure from the streets.

“The fact that former President Estrada today appears TO ENJOY WIDER PUBLIC  support than former President Arroyo IS FURTHER confirmation of that painful mistake.  IT seems, therefore, obvious that if there is anything we could learn from that first impeachment trial, it is that we should not repeat any of its mistakes.

“Our common objective and desire should be to make sure that due process and the rule of law are observed, that justice is served and our democratic institutions preserved, and that at the end of the day, our people stand united in supporting the just outcome of the process, and in forging ahead.’

“Thus, UNLESS WE SEE A serious breach in the proceedings, OUR common task is to LEND TO the Senate trial our attentive and respectful silence.  It is in our highest national interest that whatever the outcome of this impeachment trial, it should succeed as a fair and just  constitutional process.  That would define our maturity as a democracy and our right and fitness to forge ahead as an independent and SOVEREIGN state.”

Vice President Binay, a lawyer, even remarked that today, you find analysts in every nook and corner.  “Analysts are over-analyzed, especially the lawyers.”  Everyone seems to have become lawyers overnight and its quite funny.  We should just listen, observe and monitor the proceedings, as the VP suggests.