A Time for Moving On

Life is a torrent of challenges, mini-battles that constantly put our “fight” or “flight” response to the test at every turn.  With every battle we choose to fight, in the end, we always get confronted with this one simple question – At what point does one accept that the fight is over and it is time for moving on?

I believe this is the biggest question that dwells in the mind of Chief Justice Sereno right now.  The circus at the Congress that’s bound for a much grander stage – the Senate, sitting as the impeachment court, is at full swing.  It is one entertaining spectacle where people of all background weigh in with their own critical views.  It has somehow turned every one of us into lawyers, well-versed with the provisions of the constitution, even when the majority of us have not even gazed a single law book in our life. 

I have only very basic understanding of the law, enough for me to live a relatively compliant (translation: boring) life.  When faced with something I have no deep knowledge of, I simplify using familiar concepts to help me form an opinion. On the law and the Constitution, my simplification is this – law is very similar to religion, you do not have to fully read, memorize and understand every single word of every passage in the Bible to be a Christian.  That complex and daunting task is best left to scholars.  For me, the concept of law is a much simpler proposition that is closely tied with the “Golden Rule” – it is there to ensure that all men act as agents for the common good, promote a community of fairness and live by each other’s grace. 

This may be too extreme an oversimplification but I strongly believe that the current case of Sereno can already be argued outside the bounds of the law.  This is no longer a case of what is constitutional or not.  It is not even a case of “fair” vs “unjust” or a case of “truth” vs “lie”.  Fair, in its purest sense, is something we will never really truly see in our lifetime, nor will our kids in theirs.  One man’s lie can sometimes be another man’s truth (and it seems to be a growing trend nowadays with the advent of “fake” news).  Life will never be fair nor will it ever be true.  We can destroy people, break institutions, redefine “fair” as we rewrite the Constitution, and codify the criteria to explicitly define when “truth” is considered true only to find out that it still does not change a thing.  Fair is nothing more than the reciprocation of the good and the bad that we hurl at each other every day. Our truth will always be one that is judged through the indelible impressions we leave on each other’s lives with every personal encounter.  These are all anchored on human experiences rather than on written laws.  So long as life is a shared experience, all these concepts will always be relative and will always form the bases by which every man will be tried and remembered.  In the case of the Chief Justice, I think it is fair to say that “fair” is finally catching up on her and her “truth” has already been spoken.  You reap what you sow, so they say.

It has been two straight weeks now that employees of the Supreme Court have gathered on the SC grounds, calling in unison for Sereno to step down.  The noise is much louder this week with other judges from the regional courts joining in.  This is a far cry from the time of the late Chief Justice Corona when he was fighting a similar battle.  Corona, back in his days, enjoyed the support of his peers until the very end.  Had he won that impeachment case, he would have been able to get back to work without much complication. The same cannot be said of Sereno.  Should Sereno emerge triumphant in this scuffle, the scene of her treading the grounds of the Supreme Court to once again take her rightful seat inside its honored chambers presents an enormous challenge even to the most imaginative of minds. The relationships between Sereno and those that testified against her, for all intents and purposes, have already been severed and will never be the same again. The questions of her integrity will always linger no matter what the provisions of the Constitution say to support her case.  The rest of the world can vouch for her integrity, and none of it would matter.  Integrity, much like a piece of china, once broken will never be whole again. With these, I cannot see how the Judiciary can function effectively with her at its helm.

Sereno is fighting for “judicial independence” as any Chief Justice rightfully should.  However, I think the fight was over the very first time one of her peers testified against her in the congress hearings.  It was over when more peers followed suit in succeeding hearings. It was clearly over when Supreme Court employees went out and called for her to step down.  Whether we like it or not, the Judiciary is already under the scrutiny of a co-equal, but “external” body.  The only true way judicial independence can be preserved is if Sereno steps down, effectively sparing the Judiciary from further scrutiny and possible sanction by an “external” body. To continue fighting this battle is not to fight for “judicial independence” but rather to fight for “personal vindication”. 

 

The people who went against her are the very people that should have been her very bastion to retreat to for her last stand.  These are the people, whose voices can speak her “truth” that will act as her shield and her source of strength in these trying times. These are the intimate ones – members of her closest circle, her second home, whose shared experiences with her practically defines her.  Had she shared the journey alongside them rather than above them, as implied in the congress testimonies, things could have been different.  Had she treated people with a little bit more kindness, even just a bit more than they actually deserve (if she was really high up that horse as some people say), her truth could have been a little bit different.  But alas, everything is clear only in hindsight. 

Constitutional or not, one thing is clearer than the day of light – she has outlived her usefulness and is no longer needed or wanted where she is at.  Had it been otherwise, she would not need to expend so much time, energy and strength to hold on to her post.  She would not need to hop from one speaking engagement to another in the hopes of swaying people’s mindset about her and her case (for which, by the way, she got a good dressing-down from a colleague for the “un-justice”-like behavior speaking about a case that is sub judice). 

In times that matter, such as the one Sereno is in, when you have invested enough in people and have worked hard to leave a mark where you’ve walked, people would gather in numbers to fight the good fight for you.  They would even stand by you in defeat.  Sadly, there seems to be no indication of such a move brewing for the embattled Chief Justice. That says a lot about one’s character. Perhaps it is time for her to consider other options.  Maybe it is time to accept that the “fight” is over and it is time for moving on.  Then again, there is still the “flight” option to Oklahoma to get a medical certificate. What say you, Andy?