- Office of Minority Leader Edcel C. Lagman
- 0916-6406737/0918-9120137
- Official Website: http://www.edcellagman.com.ph
- 11 May 2011
LAGMAN: JUSTICE ASSURED IN
THE ‘VACUUM’ OF NEUTRALITY
President Aquino got it all wrong when he attacked the Sandiganbayan for approving the Garcia plea bargaining agreement “in a vacuum”.
The President is oblivious of the ideal norm that a judge or jurist must formulate his decision in a “vacuum”, unperturbed by the mob, uninfluenced by public opinion, insulated from “recommendations” of extrajudicial fora and free from partisan intruders.
This “vacuum” is the judicious environ the magistrates should “live in” to assure the cold neutrality of an impartial judge.
The President erroneously wants the judiciary to subscribe and surrender to public opinion which could be manipulated and managed by interest and pressure groups.
Justice should neither be a commodity in the market of popularity nor a victim in a propaganda rampage.
Justice is forged in an independent furnace wherein issues and cases are adjudicated based on competent and admissible facts and pertinent laws.
Both the executive and legislative branches must respect and preserve the independence of the judiciary for the rule of law to prevail.