by Diego Morra
If the newly-minted Senate President Alan Peter Schramm Cayetano thinks that by orchestrating a mock assault on the Senate was a golden opportunity to prevent the quick trial of the impeached Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte Carpio and spark massive rallies in support of the long-absent Sen. Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa who was stuck at the Senate building, then he is terribly misreading his tea leaves.
The ruse was to give a semblance of siege on the Senate as Cayetano extended “protective custody” over de la Rosa, the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and implemented through the International Police (Interpol.) With thousands of policemen massed at the Senate to control a rowdy crowd of Duterte cultists, Cayetano’s “protective custody” over de la Rosa was assured of a huge defensive cordon. The presence of law enforcers became the story, along with the appointment of the trigger-happy Mao Aplasca, de la Rosa’s “mistah” at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) and Cayetano’s security aide, diverted public attention from the more important story—the filing of the impeachment complaint before the Senate.
Cayetano’s “protective custody” over de la Rosa, imposed under his phantom authority that has no legal leg to stand on, became the preparatory act to hatch another plot—to get his Senate partner out of the building after being assured by Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla that de la Rosa will not be arrested. This strange Remulla declaration is a giveaway. An outstanding warrant from the ICC was issued and two female National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents tried to present the warrant to de la Rosa at the Senate but he pushed them away and ran for life. As the videos showed, de la Rosa did not fight his way to the session hall but stumbled like a clumsy oaf as he hurried to vote for the ouster of then Senate President Tito Sotto. It was a precious, promised vote that Cayetano needed to crush the obsession of Loren Legarda to become the chamber’s chief. There is no honor among thieves, right?
After the vote and as armed NBI agents descended upon the Senate compound, Part 2 of the caper was to craft an escape plan for de la Rosa. Never mind the ICC warrant, never mind the serious implication of coddling a defendant in the case of crimes against humanity lodged against Rodrigo Duterte. Ironic, indeed, for Cayetano to question the ICC’s jurisdiction when he signed the resolution ratifying the country’s accession to the Rome Statute and the enactment of Republic Act No. 9851 that mandated the country to accept the jurisdiction of the ICC and accepted crimes against humanity as a universal crime. By contesting the validity of the ICC processes, Cayetano was practically arguing against himself and offering lame excuses such as his not being furnished the warrant of arrest against de la Rosa.
By protecting de la Rosa, Cayetano made him more equal than any criminal defendant in Philippine courts and international tribunals. Haughtily, he even dared the ICC to arrest de la Rosa after he had prepared the way for de la Rosa to escape in the company of Sen. Robinhood Padilla, a convict who eventually was pardoned, like Tony Leviste, Loren’ former partner and father of Leandro, who killed his boyhood friend and associate right in his Makati office. Cayetano surely has a way with criminals and the spawn of felons. In fact, Cayetano disregarded the ICC warrant and declared that de la Rosa was free to leave anytime. Indeed, before daybreak on May 14, he fled the coop, reportedly riding in a van driven by Padilla.
After winning the Senate presidency and letting de la Rosa off the hook, to the chagrin of the NBI and even the Supreme Court (SC), which was still hearing de la Rosa’s petition to stay his arrest, Cayetano simply got rid of de la Rosa, who is probably now basking in some expensive retreat. By letting him escape, Cayetano gave the republic another black eye, rendering real Loren’s earlier opinion that Cayetano cannot be trusted. How will the Philippine government respond to such atrocious conduct? Perhaps by doubling efforts to hunt down de la Rosa and his new sidekick, Padilla.
With the impeachment trial to commence on May 18, Cayetano may have an ace up his sleeves: To either absolve Sara Zimmerman Duterte Carpio in the impeachment court or encourage his fellow senators to abide by the counsel by the late judge, immigration commissioner and senator Miriam Defensor that impeachment is a quasi-judicial and quasi-political process in which tons of evidence must be weighed by senator-judges and individual votes must be explained. Rodante Marcoleta and Robinhood Padilla must explain their votes since dismissing the charges outright would deny due process to the plaintiffs, including the more than 7-milliion people who have signed a petition to conduct the trial forthwith. Dictionaries do not engage in court battles.
Cayetano may still parlay the trial to suit his overweening ambition to become the first American president of the Philippines. If the tons of evidence presented appear to favor a conviction, Cayetano may take the chance to argue for it. After all, the Duterte partisans have absolutely repaid the Dutertes. Nasimot na ang utang na loob. By convicting Sara, he would have doomed the Duterte political dynasty and prevented Sara from running for any elective office. Cayetano would then deodorize himself, rid him of the political stench and declare that the senator-judges voted according to their conscience, no matter how seldom it is used. Once Cayetano talks with the donor class, save for the taipans who refuse to contribute a minimum of P200-million each, then it would be clear as day that he will throw Sara under the bus. The culture of impunity is as worse as the culture of betrayal.#