Dr. Florangel Rosario Braid By Florangel Rosario Braid   This is how one of our dissenting Supreme Court justices, SC Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, describes the decision made by eight of his SC colleagues – an “abomination.” Which is perhaps the harshest term one can find. Oxford thesaurus gives these synonyms – “atrocity,” “disgrace,” “obscenity,” “evil,” “crime,” “anathema,” “monstrosity.” Is this how the last bastion of justice, and what we have perceived to be our fair and final arbiter and protector had become? Have our honorable justices of the land stooped that low for some reason or another? What is left that we can hold on to when the Constitution has been tattered and discarded? I never thought in my wildest dream that this day would come, a dark day in our democracy, the day when we find ourselves without any means of support except our faith in the Divine and our own selves. This is why others have called it a “suicide.” The outrage over what is perceived by many as unjust has just made Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno a hero in the eyes of many Filipinos. “If this can be done to the highest magistrate, what do we expect would be done to the ordinary Filipino,” asks the ousted chief justice. Everyone – yes, you and I are now fair game to politics and the powers of the government. Maybe it is not too late for the justices to redeem themselves. Perhaps they can go into a retreat and pray …ask God to help them see the bigger picture, the implications of their act of the future of justice. I am sure they have enough discernment to realize that their decision can have an irreparable damage to the Constitution and to the justice system. That this being so, they can set aside their own biases and prejudices and set the course right. This appeal is for them to examine alternative courses that can save the judiciary and the country. The next few days would be crucial. Let us hope that we can still touch the hearts not only of the eight justices but also the members of the House of Representatives. We still nurse the hope that they will follow the right course which is to do what is constitutionally right which is to allow the ousted justice to defend herself in the impeachment process. *** I voted in yesterday’s barangay election even though I will be leaving the barangay where I had lived for 44 years. Some wondered why I had to go through the process since I’m still recuperating from a recent operation and have not been attending to my other normal activities. I voted together with the 75 percent (predicted number of expected voters) because I believed that the barangay could be the most important unit of governance if we want to make it so. After all, it is where we can see the government work at close range. Thus, by voting for the right officials and by working with them in making the environment safe and healthy. I must agree that this is a vision that has yet to be fully attained. Much still needs to be done by most barangays in providing opportunities for citizen participation in barangay programs and projects. I also believe that we must continue to strengthen the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) as it is the place where we can identify and nurture some of the brightest and committed youth that can provide the country’s leadership at all levels. Thus, it becomes a training ground for national leaders and the fact that it is able to draw out potential leaders among the less advantaged sectors of our society, makes it one of the important solutions to our current problem of political dynasties. Again, we need to work at making election at this level fair and honest. Unfortunately, the recent election showed that we are still experiencing growing pains as shown by cases of vote buying and, in some barangays, inefficiencies such as missing names of voters registered in the precincts.   My email, [email protected]