of guilt and closure

GUILTY.

the sandiganbayan finds erap guilty of plunder.

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CLOSURE.

i used to hate erap on a purely personal level:  i considered him as the proximate cause for my one-year hiatus from law school, which led me to graduate a year later than my original batch.

as political staff of minority leader sonny belmonte from 1999 to 2001, we were at the forefront of (staff) action during the initiation of the erap impeachment proceedings in 2000. 

at the house of representatives, then cong. sonny alvarez had endorsed the first impeachment complaint.  we had to help gather at least 73 more signatures to make sure that the complaint would be elevated to the senate, who would then try the impeachment case.  the spice boys (migz zubiri, mike defensor, nani braganza) and the old spice (sonny b, oca moreno, joker arroyo, recom echiverri) were tasked to hound their party-mates and other congressman friends and beseech them to add their endorsements to the complaint.  when they had prospects, we (the staff) would in turn add a little pressure on the staff of these prospects, so that it was a two-pronged kulitan event.  the main headquarters and operations center was the minority leader's office, where coffee, food and microwave popcorn were constantly available.

i'm sure nad would agree:  those months were the most tiring work-months, but they were also the most exciting. 

we had a lot of work to do.  suddenly, we had multiple bosses, with different requests and demands, most of which included sleuthing trips, undercover research, phone calls made under pseudonyms (well, we had to confirm the presence of certain personalities in their declared places of residence!) and a lot more which i obviously cannot divulge.  we would hear clicks and whispers of mysterious persons over the line, while talking with someone over the phone.  it got to a point where we had to put small post-its on all our phone units which read:  "warning:  this line is bugged."  then PNP chief ping lacson saw these post-its on one of his visits to our office, and could only shake his head and smile wanly. 

i will never forget the time when we got into an argument with some of our co-workers from the engineering department.  i think it was just a week before the deadline and we were all scrambling to get the numbers.  we were on "happy, expectant mode" because manny villar and his group had already sent feelers that they were ready to endorse the complaint.  we were ready to work overtime as usual, then we heard the rumble of fogging and pesticide machines mar the silence of the congress environs.  apparently, there was a scheduled fumigation and we all had to vacate the office premises.  we fought tooth & nail with the engineer on duty, telling him to stop the fumigation for the whole main building.  (if they had spared our office alone, it would have been useless since the main building of congress has centralized airconditioning.)  unfortunately, mr. engineer had an office memo from the sec.gen. allowing the fumigation.  they spared our office and those beside it (what used to be 2 more conference rooms, the appropriations committee office and the internal audit office).  until now, i have never acknowledged the smiles or greetings from mr. engineer when we cross paths.  hehe.

as the books of history will show, we got our numbers.  i was at the session hall when manny villar directly sent the complaint to the senate and banged his gavel, to the dismay of the other members of the house.  and i was there when he was unseated as speaker, and noli fuentebella was elected to take his place.

our office was again in chaos, this time in the middle of the impeachment proceedings.  boss sonny b was the head of the prosecution panel (and the house contingent).  we did not personally participate in the case at that point, since the prosecution panel had hired their own secretariat staff, though we were left in congress to monitor EVERYTHING happening around, and that included watching the impeachment proceedings everyday.

then the senators did not allow the opening of the second envelope.  that night, by 8pm, i found myself at the EDSA shrine where a few people had started to gather.  my co-worker, markk, was at a barkada dinner when he got the news.  knowing in his heart that he had to go to EDSA, he started walking along timog towards EDSA to catch a bus.  there was an ongoing noise barrage (car horns were blaring everywhere!), and suddenly a car slowed down beside him.  the occupants of the car asked him if he wanted to go to EDSA shrine with them.  in the spirit of solidarity (and without considerations of safety), he got on the car with those strangers. hehe.

i also had my version of "riding with a stranger" on those days at EDSA.  i think it was the second day, and there was a downpour.  i had to get to school by 6pm for class, and traffic was at a standstill.  we decided to walk north from galleria and just hoped to catch any kind of transport somewhere along the way.  by the time we reached the EDSA monument, we were dog tired.  i got this crazy idea of trying to hitch a ride to UP.  i made a sign that said "TO UP OR KATIPS DIRECTION. PLEASE. "  after 30 minutes, a car driver took pity on us.  he was a UP alumnus and he told us that his conscience couldn't take not giving a ride to his "schoolmates." 

it's funny to note that i was present on all those EDSA 2 days... all days EXCEPT the day when GMA took her oath and was booed by the crowd.  ha.  i could only gloat at the sight (and turn green with envy at not being able to "boo" at her myself), in the comforts of my anonas apartment.

the next session day, with GMA now assuming the presidency, we knew that there would be corresponding changes to the congress leadership.  at first they wanted manny villar re-elected, but the original minority group (sans SB) had some apprehensions.  eventually, manny villar expressed his desire not to be elected as speaker, since he was also planning to run for the senate. 

i was at the session hall when my boss was elected the third Speaker of the 11th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines.  from the basement of the main building, we moved to the most coveted office of the batasan complex.

and since the speakership is an all-around office, both political and administrative, it meant a lot more work and greater responsibility for us, the original staff, who suddenly had to supervise our own staff. 

everything took its toll on my studies, especially my attendance (rather, non-attendance) at classes.  eventually i decided to go on leave, if only to save my grades and not put my academic standing at risk.

this is how it came to be that because of erap, i had to give up a year and prolong my law school life. 

but i'm a lawyer now, so i think it's time to let go of the hatred.  it was pure circumstance, and the accidents that consequently happened have provided me with numerous opportunities that i think have been worth the one year hiatus.  as i said to myself on the day that i filed my LOA, "que sera sera."

the past six years have been good.  nah.  i think they've been great.  and i can only thank erap for being the proximate cause of everything that has led me to this day, to who i am now, to what i have, and to everything else that lies ahead.