Is de Lima showing the slip already?

Justice secretary Leila de Lima truly has a screwed sense of her job description. Right after Senator Bong Revilla walked into detention in connection with the plunder charges he faces, de Lima could not contain her glee and chirped that it was a milestone for Philippine justice.

If de Lima meant the sordid episode on national tv in which the motorcade of Revilla was covered live from the moment it left his house to the time he turned himself over to the Sandiganbayan, then I would agree that it was indeed a milestone.

Where in the world would tv networks cover live an entire motorcade of a suspect in a scam as he goes to the court that ordered his arrest? For once I will agree with the Department of Tourism slogan that indeed it is more fun in the Philippines.

Other than that ridiculous chapter in our lives, which years from now I am pretty sure all Filipinos would rather forget, nothing in the stepping of Revilla into his cell approximates whatever milestone de Lima must have been playing in her mind.

But if, as I suspect, de Lima is exulting over the fact that Revilla is now in detention, pray tell where is the milestone in that, unless she has deliberately ignored the fact that, as justice secretary, she should be out there in the forefront ensuring that, for the sake of justice, Revilla gets his due process.

If de Lima acts her part and does her job, and moves heaven and earth to ensure that Revilla gets his day in court and is not deprived his right to presumption of innocence, then I don't know what the heck de Lima is so giddy about some milestone.

De Lima, however, has long been suspect in her handling of justice. Justice for de Lima is what she is told by her boss Noynoy Aquino who, of all people, is the least anyone would expect to derive justice from, and not only because he is incapable of giving it, he is utterly ignorant what it is.

From the very first day Noynoy decided to run for the highest office in the land, he was already doing every Filipino, including those who were not yet born at the time, a great injustice by way of offering his services despite knowing fully well that he does not have the slightest capability to be president.

What Noynoy is good at is going after his enemies. This is precisely the reason why officials like de Lima have grown in power and influence despite their clear incompetence. They have Noynoy's liver in their hands. All they need to do is give it a little squeeze and they pass his simple test.

Never mind if some of these officials are as corrupt as the enemies of Noynoy they are after. Noynoy does not care about their morals, about their jobs. So long as they have his liver and they give it what it needs, Noynoy will continue to keep them in his trust and confidence.

As this was written, Noynoy was nowhere in sight. He probably was closeted somewhere in Malacañang, continuing to watch the replays of the Revilla motorcade. Never mind if the country was in the iron grip of runaway prices of commodities and severe shortages of everything else.

At a time when it would have been reassuring to hear the voice or see the face of the nation's leader that everything was going to turn out all right, Noynoy is nowhere to be seen. What we see and hear instead is de Lima, telling everyone about milestones as if their lives get better and makes more sense because of it.

At a time when multiple crises have the country down on its knees - beaten black and blue by unrelenting crime, OFWs in distress in Iraq, rising prices of fuel, rice, garlic, China stealing our islands - all that Noynoy and de Lima can think about is the politics of attrition, with one down and more to go.

What de Lima and Noynoy are talking about can only be a milestone if, after trial, enough people get imprisoned regardless of political color. Right now, the cases have not even been heard so it is too early to be exulting about milestones - unless the cases are just a farce and de Lima already knows how they end.