Catch-22

Most people have what might be called a generic tonal quality to their voices, meaning that, to the untrained ear, they sound just like everybody else. Others, on the other hand, make very distinct and unmistakable sounds when they talk or sing.

Singers like Rod Stewart with his raspy voice, Neil Young with his nasal drone, tv host Larry King with his croaky baritone, and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña are good examples of the latter. You know it is they when you hear them. There is no copying the way they sound.

And then of course there is the Philippine president, Gloria Arroyo, whose voice is like no other. When she speaks, it is as if her identification card has just been swiped across your eardrum. Not even professional mimics can probably duplicate with utter exactness her voice.

When the so-called " Garci Tapes " exploded in 2004, in which a woman's voice inquired from then Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garciallano about votes in the presidential elections of that year, there was little doubt in the public mind who the woman speaking was.

So unfettered by any doubt was the identity of the speaker that the owner of the voice was forced to go public and apologize for the " impropriety " of calling up a Comelec official in the midst of an election in which she was a contender, and eventual winner.

But while there was no doubt who the big fish that got caught in the mouth was, there was also no other evidence to proceed from on the charge that she conspired with Garcillano to cheat her way to victory in that election. All that everyone had was Arroyo caught on tape.

Moreover, there was nothing on the tape strong enough or sufficiently incriminating to stand legal scrutiny in a court of law to warrant conviction beyond reasonable doubt. The best a scandalized nation can assuage itself was a guilty verdict in the bar of public opinion.

But because perception kills just as much as any gun or knife, the credibility of Arroyo slipped into a coma so deep that not even successful initiatives in other areas of her governance managed to shake it back to life, or whatever semblance of it that is required in leadership.

And so the nation plodded along, led by a leader people no longer trust, yet could not also legally remove from office without compromising the core values and principles that keep alive the democracy they are so proud of.

This dilemma affects everyone, including those who continue to aggressively fight for her ouster. The enemies of the president know that while they can generate enough noise to keep the issue alive and unforgotten, they know as well that they have little to proceed from there.

Their dilemma is that if they force the issue on what they have, one or both of two things can happen: They compromise the very principles that make them credible, and they become no better than the one they seek to topple. Both become same dogs with different barks.

We are, in effect, caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea. The darn Catch-22 principle has got us in a grip we find so hard to extricate ourselves from without having to pay a tremendous cost.

That cost is a further fraying of the only thread that continues to hold the fabric of this nation together - judicial integrity. With so many institutions fallen, traditions broken, cultures forgotten, only a gasping need for order by way of judicial integrity remains breathing.

But if even judicial integrity we choose to bloody in the metaphorical altar of self-righteousness, with neither heed for tomorrow and temperance, or even forgiveness, then we need no wars nor terrorists to bring our house down. We just let the shit hit the fan.