“It is in justice that the ordering of society is centered.”—Aristotle
If we are a topsy-turvy society today, it is because justice has been overtaken by power politics and the use of force and deception. This is what can be observed in many of our most celebrated crime mysteries, from the Ninoy Aquino, Lean Alejandro, and Popoy Lagman assassinations to the present and highly charged Dacer-Corbito case. Even though all have been marred by still many unanswered questions, accusers in the present instance do not have an open-and-shut case because of one very fundamental problem: The absence of a corpus delicti (or the body of the crime).
For one, DNA examination of the alleged Dacer-Corbito bone fragments by the University of the Philippines Natural Sciences Research Institute stated thus: “Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis targeting the 121 bp intergenic region of the COH and tRNAlys genes of the mitochondrion gave NEGATIVE RESULTS for the presence of human DNA.”
This was the official report submitted to retired general Reynaldo G. Wycoco, the NBI director at that time who was also a political appointee of Mrs. Gloria Arroyo. These results were strangely never given emphasis by subsequent reportage. Instead, dental plates not found by the NBI composite team--composed of dozens of investigators who scoured the crime scene for 31 days--but allegedly retrieved by the hired forensic expert of the Dacer family in a subsequent four-hour search were given more weight.
On the evening of March 25, 2009, after the side of the accused, represented by Atty. Alex Avisado—who also appeared on my “Talk News TV” program the other day, started airing on major TV networks, a Dacer family member finally reacted to the pivotal question of the “corpus delicti.” I was surprised, though, that Karina Dacer did not bring out any solid evidence to counter Atty. Avisado’s presentation.
Let me clarify that I am not defending Sen. Ping Lacson. Most who follow my column and programs know that I have not been sympathetic to him ever since he served as an Arroyo spoiler against the imminent victory of FPJ in 2004. All these are in the interest of justice and truth.
A reopening of the Dacer case should look into the other angles we raised in Part 1 of our column-series on this issue. I would like a thorough inquiry into the claims of Fr. Baldostamon, parish priest of the Dacers, who said he heard Almonte offer to connect the family with the kidnappers while continuing with their mourning. Moreover, former president Fidel V. Ramos’ role in all this should be another priority because, in truth, a great many of our people believe that he had a lot to gain from Dacer’s disappearance and are intrigued by his Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) in announcing it even before the family showed any alarm. Then, of course, the Almonte connection to FVR and the Baldostamon claim should not remain hanging.
Ultimately, though, our call to reopen the Dacer case can only be rhetorical as there’s no hope of getting to the bottom of it while the Arroyo regime stays in power. Among many reasons, it is primarily not in its interest to lift the “Sword of Damocles” over its adversaries who are accused in the case. That sword, however, has gotten duller and duller by the day, as the evidence contrary to the prosecution’s case, which heretofore have been restrained for being subjudice, has now been repeated over media. In fact, a backlash may have already started against the Arroyo regime; or, at the very least, skepticism has grown over the government’s case against the accused. After these three weeks of sensationalism, all these should rightly return to the processes of the courts--and wait for the Arroyo regime to be changed before justice is realized.
Certainly, the Aristotelian ideal of a just society is also the Filipino ideal. Yet, we are hurtling farther away from it because of the machinations of transnational Western powers through their local minions in government and the oligarchy.
Justice demands that the people be sovereign, with the integrity of our national boundaries and the sanctity of our national patrimony intact. Sadly, there has not been a moment in this nation’s history that these have been held paramount. So today, that peril is again at its height, with the arrival of war criminal Tony Blair, whom the idiotic Philippine mainstream media touts as a “peace maker.”
If only they opened their eyes, they’d know that Tony Blair’s mission in the Philippines is to merely push US-British oil interests by glorifying appeasement to secessionist demands, disguised as peace with the MILF—which, on its own, has already turned on its cause since it kowtowed to US President George W. Bush in 2003.
Also, they’d better learn that the Movement for the Advancement of International Criminal Law already handed a 40-page dossier to the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague , charging Blair with serious violations of international humanitarian law in Yugoslavia , subsequently declaring him a “war criminal.” Plus, Carne Ross, former key British negotiator at the UN, exposed Blair’s other war crime lies in an inquiry, saying: “At no time did HMG [Her Majesty's Government] assess that Iraq’s WMD (or any other capability) posed a threat to the UK or its interests.”
At best, the US-British powers serve as the only remaining prop in the continuation of the unjust and oppressive Arroyo regime, which the Filipino electorate have rejected twice--for which Gloria had to cheat to push through. This regime has faced at least three major military revolts--aborted only by admonishments from the US Embassy, notwithstanding surveys pointing to the overwhelming disgust of the populace against it. But Blair and Obama still rely on Gloria to give to their oil companies our national patrimony in Mindanao --something that should be stopped at all cost if we are to secure this country’s economic future. Our next focus is on the US-Gloria Cha-Cha.
