DESPITE repeated reminders from Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, House impeachers’ spokesperson Rep. Romero Quimbo continues to discuss the merits of the impeachment case in public. He is not hard of hearing; he is smart.  He is litigating this case in public.

He also thinks they were smart in submitting a list of 100 witnesses to the Senate impeachment court.  He forgot that the reason they were required to do this was to speed up the trial.

But 100 witnesses willing to testify against Chief Justice Renato Corona must mean something to the Plaza Miranda crowd, where Rep. Quimbo is litigating the case with arrogant impunity.  So he ignores Senator Enrile and disrespects the impeachment court.  He is above the law.

There is a very important reason why impeachment rules prohibit discussion in public.  Senator  Enrile said outside the court people are not under oath.  The House prosecutors are smart lawyers.  They also know that.  But they operate above the law with impunity.

I have stopped my children from watching the impeachment trial for fear that they might imbibe the wrong values from the House prosecutors.

Corridors of power

In the first week of the trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, I roamed the corridors of power of the Senate renewing bonds with old classmates and friends working for the senators.  In my aimless meandering, I bumped into Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada and Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, both of whom are exemplary senators.

Both were well-scrubbed, well-groomed, and sporting light touches of make-up.  It was then that I realized that the trial was being covered live by television.

Then I saw Chief House Prosecutor Niel Tupas emerging from the men’s room, looking spic and span. Then it struck me that many congressmen would be running in 2013.

15-minutes of fame

The trial gives them their 15 minutes of fame.  Many senators now sitting as judges made their indelible mark on the national audience in the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada more than 10 years ago.

I made a mental note that the power of media could make instant celebrities and monsters of us all.  Estrada fell from grace largely because of a critical press.  President Aquino is in Malacañang because of a fawning media that adore his mother and father to this day.

The eminent constitutional law expert Fr. Joaquin Bernas, a constant resource person of radio and television programs, has made the perceptive observation that the trial is being litigated both in the Senate and Plaza Miranda, that storied plaza in front of Quiapo Church where political rallies were held before media took over as the main political forum.

Ethical issues

This phenomenon has raised interesting side issues among lawyers, media practitioners, as well as the senator- senator-judges and House impeachers.

The ineptitude of the prosecuting panel is a classic example of how not to practice law.  But the sterling performance of the defense panel balances this.  And the admirable performance of Senator Enrile in steering the court through uncharted constitutional waters is awe-inspiring.

But nothing beats the hypertensive Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, whose legal erudition and feisty personality have made her a media darling.  And she managed to do this despite an elevated blood pressure that kept her out of the trial for half its two-week run.  The public has not only been entertained but educated as well, a perfect combination of what television should be all about.

Those are the positive points.  There is a dark side to this, however.

Search for the guilty

Sen. Joker Arroyo has called the attention of the court that the House prosecutors’ spokespersons may be dangerously flaunting impeachment rules prohibiting discussing the merits outside the court.  Arroyo cited the immediate leakage to the press of the income tax returns of the Corona family even before they could be offered and admitted as evidence.

The defense panel said they did not do it.  So did Chief House Prosecutor Tupas.  He was partly right and totally  misleading.  His spokespersons, particularly Rep. Quimbo, were identified by reporters as responsible for leaking the copies to the press.

Arroyo stressed that documents marked as possible evidence are not considered public records yet and their confidentiality must be zealously guarded to protect the rights of the accused.

Senate President Enrile gently reminded the litigants to observe the rules prohibiting public discussion of the merits of the case.  He again reminded everybody that outside the court  people were not under oath. 

No sooner had he said this than the House spokespersons were caught on camera conducting a media briefing.  They were obviously piling up brownie points before the Plaza Miranda crowd.  At this point I shut off the TV and my kids, all adults, vigorously objected in the impeccable manner of Justice Cuevas. 

I said I did not want them to develop a culture of impunity watching the House spokespersons brazenly violating Senate rules after just being reprimanded in open court.

Fallen angels

My children know of two House spokespersons.  They know of Rep. Erin Tanada and Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara because I have often spoken of them as brilliant young congressmen and sons of illustrious fathers.  Both are now considered  potential candidates for higher office in 2013, and I did not want my children, all voters, to lose faith in them this early.

I told my children that since I know their parents, I would  indulge myself in giving them unsolicited parental guidance: Keeping bad company is dangerous to their political careers.  They should stay away from bad influence.

While we were on the topic of impunity, my children, who tutor young students, suggested wryly that it may be time for the MTRCB to start classifying newscasts and live coverage and giving them with appropriate “Parental Guidance” ratings.

Parental guidance is definitely needed now that the avenging angels waging battles for high ethical standards in government have themselves become what they are seeking to obliterate from the face of this earth.