As the #savevico took the internet by storm, this controversy revealed to us the true colors of the Philippine administration — injustice. They only give the benefit of the doubt to the people they favor and punish the just.
It all started when Makati Medical Center released an official statement about Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel testing positive for CoViD-19 and breaching protocol. He brought his wife to the hospital for a scheduled cesarean, exposing medical staff to possible infection. This resulted in nurses and doctors sent home to be quarantined, ultimately leading to the depletion of the workforce in the hospital.
This is a clear violation of the law, Pimentel put everyone involved in risk due to his reckless actions. Therefore, like everyone else, he must be punished for his crimes. However, the Department of Justice says otherwise. They said that they won't further investigate until there is a formal complaint. Yet, after saying that it "will temper the rigor of the law with human compassion," the DOJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that "they will investigate Pimentel's case the same way as other cases" because of the public uproar.
This is not the only reason why people are calling out the DOJ for its injustices. The National Bureau of Investigation summoned Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto for violating the Bayanihan Heal as One Act. This act bans all forms of public transportation. Before this was enacted, Sotto allowed limited public transport for healthcare workers and other frontliners. This led to the public responding with criticism, heavily comparing it to Pimentel's case.
One could give Pimentel the benefit of the doubt, saying that this is a big milestone for any man — the birth of his child. However, S&R BGC came out with an official statement saying that Pimentel was caught violating protocol again. Meaning, he has no self-control and infringed protocol. Surveillance footage confirmed that Pimentel was grocery shopping, again, putting people at risk of contracting CoViD-19. And looking at the NBI's perspective, even if Sotto had good intentions, he did violate a law.
However, if the DOJ wanted to hold people accountable to their mistakes, then why was Pimentel given "compassion." If this was an average Filipino with no connections or money whatsoever, this person would already be facing charges. In this case, everyone can see a clear bias. While Sotto's violation is for mobilizing front-liners and adding more people to the workforce, Pimentel's case is the opposite. His actions resulted in the reduction of the workforce and mobilized the virus. Despite this, the DOJ forgave Pimentel, led no further investigation, yet summoned Sotto for his mistake.
To begin with, this accusation would even be void because like what Sotto said, a law can't be retroactive. This means that he didn't violate the law because he implemented measures even before this law existed. Looks like someone needs to retake their law classes. Either way, being an obedient citizen that he is, complied with the law and took down the limited public transport.
Some speculate that all this mess was a distraction from bigger issues, others think that this is a way to bring Vico Sotto down. Sotto is praised by the public for handling Pasig City in an orderly manner amidst this crisis. Though in reality, Sotto was just doing his job being a public servant to his people. However, what he does still raises the standards pretty high because a lot of politicians are notorious for being inadequate for the job.
A simple solution is, don't be biased. Pimentel should be penalized for what he did, and Sotto should be free from this invalid accusation. The justice system is being ironic right now, punishing the just and showing tolerance to the ones not. No one should be above the law, even Pimentel.
Now that the DOJ is deemed unjust, this raises a relevant question— who do we turn to when we look for justice? If we take a step back and further examine our history, we are the ones who answer to justice. Our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, was just a citizen like us, who rose to revolt against the injustices of the Spaniards. Furthermore, the same thing happened in Pimentel's case. Because of the online protest against the DOJ in social media, the DOJ decided to further investigate Pimentel's case. We are the answer to solve injustices. So, we must be restless until justice prevails.
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