EDITORIAL – Hope and disappointment

Over the past week or two, Cebuanos have had to endure no less than three disappointing developments in the legal and judicial front. The three came close on the heels of the earlier marriage scam that resulted in the suspension by the Supreme Court of at least four judges.

Two of the three disappointing developments that followed the judges' fiasco were the widely-publicized antics of a former chapter president of the Integrated Bar, and the deportation of four Japanese nationals involved in a porno shoot with only a slap on the wrist.

The third disappointment came when the court cleared two of the three men accused in the murder of lawyer Arbet Sta. Yongco, a private prosecutor in the celebrated parricide case of cult leader Ruben Ecleo Jr. in connection with the killing of his wife.

From all of these incidents, it is very clear that all seems not to be very well in the legal and judicial front. Indeed, describing these developments as mere disappointments is a huge understatement.

It is no understatement either to say that, in these difficult times when there seems to be a crisis in confidence in the national leadership, the only thing that is holding this country together is the continued belief of the citizens that the law and justice still prevail.

Of course such belief is not immune to the overall malaise gripping the national psyche. Studies suggest that even such belief is on the wane. But at least it is still there, and it is still worth hanging on to. After all, it is all that we got left.

But for how long that solitary belief continues to prop us from collapsing into anarchy, we do not know. What is worth knowing is that it is still there and something can still be done to bolster its strength.

That hope does not look very promising in light of the aforementioned developments. Still it is a hope worth clinging to. Those in the legal and judicial front may not know it, but people are watching them keenly. Will their hopes be nourished or will they be disappointed still?