Why do they always get sick?

What do these people have in common: Lintang Bedol accused of poll fraud in the 2007 elections; former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante; ARMM governor and Maguindanao massacre suspect Zaldy Ampatuan; ex-military comptroller Carlos Garcia; Erlinda Ligot, wife of former military comptroller Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot; former president and Pampanga representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo; former Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr.; former president Joseph Estrada and now Chief Justice Renato Corona? All of them have been charged with corrupt practices in government and used the hospital as their sanctuary.

Since such actions have become a trend for public officials, the credibility of people who have the same behavioral patterns has become very low. As a result, they are ridiculed by many.

Do Senate ‘inquisitions’ I mean inquiries really cause a person to get sick? I think it makes the “guilty” a very sick person. Why?

Our nervous systems are connected to our immune system. So it makes sense that our brain and our emotions can send out messages that affect our health. Simply put, our body responds to the way we think. When we think happy thoughts our bodies produce endorphins; hormones that make us feel good. When we are worried, anxious or generally stressed out, our bodies produce different kinds of hormones such as cortisol, and norepinephrine.

Cortisol increases blood sugar and suppresses the immune system. Norepinephrine kick starts the “flight or fight” response meaning our heart rate accelerates and our blood pressure goes up. Research has shown that a person who lies continuously will eventually face anxiety, depression, physical illness and even psychological illness.

How can you tell if a person is lying? Body language is one. A person who is lying is stiff, with few arm and hand movements. He also avoids eye contact. A person who is lying will exhibit the emotion of distress and tends to blink more rapidly as they are telling a lie. In giving verbal responses, they talk too much with too many details. They can be overly dramatic. This is to get you to believe them. Sometimes they also use the exact same words over and over. As they say, liars will “sail close to the wind” – they will artificially boost their reputation so that they seem more credible or desirable than they actually are.

Another technique that has also become a trend for major witnesses is to delay an inquiry. To do so, they tend to fabricate illnesses and the worst part is that doctors are pressured to also tell lies. Sanamagan! How can a healthy person become very ill the next day after he/ she is subpoenaed to the Court or Senate?

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Last week was indeed one exciting time at the Senate impeachment court. Everybody had their eyes glued on the TV screens and ears on the radio to see and hear what CJ Corona was going to say to prove the prosecution wrong.

On the first day, he started well and ended in a bad light. He seemed to have followed the trend of witnesses ending up in the hospital. But after a day, he got up from the hospital bed and showed up again in the Senate to fulfill his obligations. I must say he did a good act. He was able to recover from the blow that happened the day before.

The chief justice had no way out but to humble himself in front of all the senator-judges and the people of the Philippines.

What I found appalling and very disturbing was that our Chief Justice of the Supreme Court seems capable of telling lies or fabricating stories. His answers seem to be vague and not straightforward. His statements are hard to prove. He must show strong evidences of proofs to defend his stand. I wasn’t quite convince with his statements and just knowing that he is the Chief Justice, the Primus inter pares who is also required to personally certify every decision that is rendered by the Court, kind of turns me off.

An analysis made on CJ Corona’s appearance in court last Friday is that, the $ 2.4 million and the P80 million do not have a cut-off date. If so, he has to explain the massive withdrawals since December 2010. Another thing is Corona needed $267,000 in 1968 invested for 45 years to have $ 2.4 million today. That is just too much money for a law student to have in the sixties!

When the chief justice mentioned the lady SALN expert who said she has never seen a dollar account reported, it is because SALNs are reported in pesos after converting all currencies or investments into pesos. Even the Ombudsman knows this and that was how she reported her dollars in her own SALNs. Why does CJ Corona seem to be interpreting the law to favor himself?

Even if the CJ is judged from merely human considerations, there is no influence more powerful than morality to restore order and happiness in this country, to raise social standards in society, and to help the government in the maintenance of social discipline, and of law and order. The civic desire to obey the law may fail to restrain a man from dishonesty and unfair dealings, or from the commission of a crime when his own interests are seriously involved, and he thinks that his wrongdoings would not be discovered or that he would escape punishment. But moral consciousness would stand guard where and when human means fail, for it goes to the very conscience, it penetrates the very heart and mind of the individual and of the citizen.

Let there not be a single idle Senator. We need able men, patriotic men, not only to assume the supreme command, but also who occupy key positions of responsibility and leadership.

Our Senators have heard enough and I think they have sufficient grounds to decide the fate of our Supreme Court. This week we shall witness how each Senator defends his/her stand on CJ Corona’s impeachment trial. Abangan!