Enrile setting up PNoy for murder raps

Batas Mauricio

LET us assume that Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile can prove the “active and direct” involvement of President Aquino in the planning and preparation of the operation that killed Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli Abdhir (or Marwan) in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25, 2015.

Let us also assume that Aquino did not do anything to save the policemen involved in the operation while they were being butchered by the rebel-allies of the terrorist, presumably because of two things: he did not want to antagonize the rebels with whom he was trying to broker a peace deal in Mindanao, and because helping the policemen will derail his ambition to be awarded a Nobel peace prize.

Then what? My perception is that, Enrile is setting up the filing of multiple murder charges (44 in all, for each of the policemen from the Special Action Force who were massacred that day) against Aquino who, after he steps down as president on June 30, 2016, can already be sued and tried by the courts for the crimes that he committed when he was president.

If Aquino is sued for 44 counts of murder, there is no way he can be allowed bail while he is being tried, which means he must also be detained. Which means, Aquino will have to suffer the fate that befall the previous two presidents of this country—President Joseph Estrada and President Gloria Arroyo, after they stepped down or were removed from power.

Now, when is a crime like murder, committed by a person like Aquino, who was not even at the scene of the crime, or who did not even fire any single shot, or threw any single punch, or lunged at anyone with a knife or any other blooded weapon? Philippine laws indicate there are two instances where a crime can be committed by one who did not actually pull the trigger or was not even in the crime scene.

The first is by “indispensable cooperation”, and the second is by “inducement”. “Indispensable cooperation” means that the accused committed previous or contemporaneous acts that allowed the crime to happen even when he did not participate in the killing, like giving orders that eventually led to the killing or the crime.

“Inducement” means, on the other hand, the promise of a reward, like money or some other consideration, to the actual killer so he will carry out the crime. The one who made the promise is as guilty as the person who did the killing.

I believe that Enrile, being one of the brightest lawyers in the country, knows that Aquino can fall under anyone of these two classifications of a person who may not have pulled the trigger, as it were, and yet is as guilty of the offense as the gunman.

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I am hearing many people saying, “if God leads you to it, He will bring you through it”, but do they really understand what this means? This means that God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, and that when you are tempted, He will provide a way so you can bear it. But you must first be of genuine faith so God will care for you. Now, do you have genuine faith? Do you know what is “genuine faith”?

E-mail: batasmauricio@yahoo.com