PEOPLE AS THE JUDGE

An impeached official charged of an impeacheable offense shall be presumed innocent unless proven otherwise by substantial evidence, testimonial and documentary.

If found guilty, the official is removed from office and shall suffer perpetual disqualification to any elective or appointive position in government.

The worst effect of such conviction is that he will leave public office in disgrace with a shattered reputation. He may continue to defend himself in various private fora but he can no longer change the legal effects and social impact of the impeachment verdict upon him.

If found not guilty, he cannot be complacent enought as to disregard the possibility of another impeachment complaint being filed after the lapse of one year from the time the previous one was filed.

Either way, the official concerned will be confronting criminal charges in another fora, such as the Ombudsman and eventually the Sandiganbayan, in connection with evidence presented and gathered during the impeachment trial. Of course, it is expected that the jurisdiction of these institutions will be questioned.

Nonetheless, life for the impeached official will never be the same again, and that was since Day One when the entire process was commenced with the filing of the complaints.

The battlefield is truly messy. Its never fun.

But definitely, a lot of lessons were learned from the trial. The nation is witness to the maturity (or immaturity) of politicians (as well as lawyers) in the Philippines. The powerplay and battle of the minds may be entertaining but the bottomline is that they may also be scary and ruthless.

In the end, those watching will be the judge.