Moving to set dangerous precedents
FRONTLINE |
Ninez Cacho-Olivares |
Good luck to the Noynoy government, because it will really need all the luck to have the Sandiganbayan overturn the approved plea bargain agreement forged between former military comptroller, Ret. Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia — especially after Garcia had already been arraigned for direct bribery and pleaded guilty to the charge. But who knows?
To overturn the plea bargain would not only mean that he would still be charged with plunder, plus direct bribery but that henceforth, plea bargains, even if already court-approved, cannot be relied on by the accused to be final and executory.
Precedents are birthed that way and such precedents set the tone for future plea bargains that cannot be relied upon by the accused.
At this point and under the atmosphere created by Noynoy and his quarrel with the judiciary, amid strong public perception that he wants not just the high court but also the entire judiciary to bow to him and his wishes, while he punishes them by slashing the judiciary budget for being unable to get the courts to bow to him, overturning the plea bargain would be seen by the general public as a capitulation of the court to the executive power, which will do the court no good, by way of perception. We have had enough of this judicial subservience under the reign of Gloria Arroyo and it really is time for the judiciary to assert its independence..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110107com1.html
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