By Antonio C. Abaya

Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno has created a lot of waves in recent days because of his call for the emergence of a ?moral force? to save the Filipinos from themselves.

?It is very obvious that the main problem of the country is moral decadence. This is the root cause of the density of power, corruption problem,? he told reporters before speaking before the Anvil business group. (Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jan. 15).

?You look at it more deeply. You look at it from its various dimensions. That?s why? it?s time for the moral forces of the country to manifest themselves. They should cease to be an invisible force. They should play a dominant role in redirecting the destiny of our people. ??

Citing the ethical teachings of Confucius, Mr. Puno said ?The wisdom of Confucius? answers speak for themselves. More than economic prosperity, more than military might, government needs the trust of the people in order to govern effectively??

He said that the country?s two Edsa revolutions ?are testament to the lesson that governments that forfeit the trust of the people have unhappy exits..? Mr. Puno said that a leader should be able to lead by his (or her? my insertion. ACA) own example.

?There is thus an unbending obligation on the part of those who lead government to provide its moral ballast. A government that is morally fragile cannot withstand the evils that will buffet it. To be sure, a government afflicted with moral leprosy deserves nothing but the graveyard?.

?We need leaders with moral character. History tells us that people will forgive leaders for lapses in ability but will not forgive those who slip in character. Character is who we are when no one is watching.?

It is hard to recall when the last time was that a Filipino public official spoke about morality with the gravitas that Chief Justice Puno?s words are pregnant with.

And this at a time when moves are afoot to impeach him on a technicality related to a congressional election protest where the aggrieved party is a member of President Gloria Arroyo?s Kampi party, the same party that is maneuvering in the Lower House for Charter Change (ChaCha) to switch to the parliamentary system, which would allow President Arroyo to remain in power beyond 2010, as prime minister.

Kampi officials deny that the impeachment maneuver and the moves toward parliamentary system are related. But it would be hard for them to convince people of that disconnect because as Chief Justice, Mr.Puno stands as an impediment to the tactical need of Kampi to have a constituent assembly in which the Lower House and the oppositionist Senate would sit and vote as one body.

In such a Consa, Kampi and its mercenary allies?numbering much more than the requisite 167?could and would overwhelm the 23-member Senate. With Mr. Puno remaining as Chief Justice, the Supreme Court would unlikely go along with such a crass maneuver, because Mr. Puno has character: ?Character is who we are when nobody is watching.?

When nobody is watching, President Arroyo and Kampi bigwigs would be passing around paper bags full of cash.  That would be consistent with their true character.

Chief Justice Puno, who is a Methodist preacher, has emerged as the moral force that he wants to emerge from the shadows, to play a ?dominant role in redirecting the destiny of our people.?

There are calls for him to run for president in May 2010, which coincidentally is when he is scheduled to retire from the Supreme Court. Senator Ping Lacson has graciously offered to abandon his own presidential ambitions and give way to Chief Justice Puno if Puno were to choose to run. No word from Noli, Loren, Manny, Mar, Erap, Chiz, Dick and other presidential contenders. Would they also give way to Mr. Puno?

Nandy Pacheco?s Ang Kapatiran party, which has only one elected public official: a municipal councilor in Olongapo City, has unrolled its welcome mat for Chief Justice Puno in case Mr. Puno were to choose to run for president.

All this is encouraging and gives a glimmer of hope to Filipinos who are despairing that this country can ever climb out of the moral rat hole that it has fallen into. But is it realistic? Is it even desirable?

To be a serious presidential candidate in May 2010, Chief  Justice Puno will have to resign from the Supreme Court as early as September or October 2009 in order to build a party machinery, alone or in tandem with an existing party, in time for the campaign, which officially begins in January or February 2010.

That would leave the Supreme Court without his physical presence and moral influence for eight months. Eight months during which the malevolent geniuses in Malaca?ang and Kampi would be free to appoint a new Chief Justice  sympathetic to President Arroyo?s ambition to remain in power beyond 2010.

With a friendlier Chief Justice in the Supreme Court, Kampi would likely go full blast for a constituent assembly to railroad charter changes that would either extend President Arroyo?s presidential term or shift to parliamentary, fully confident that a Puno-less Supreme Court would rule in favor of the Lower House and Senate voting as one body.

Mr. Puno is probably aware of the trap that his admirers and supporters are unwittingly and unthinkingly laying out for him. Which may be why he has turned down all such overtures, saying he will consult his advisers, referring to his three grandchildren.

Aside from the risks of a premature resignation from the Supreme Court, there is also the practical realities of electoral politics in this country, which have been corrupted, perhaps beyond repair, by the likes of Benjamin Abalos and Virgilio Garcillano.

Up to now, the Comelec hasn?t been able to arrest its own factotum, Lintang Bedol, for unexplained disappearance of documents in the 2007 elections. And up to now, the Comelec cannot guarantee automated elections in 2010; this automation has been under discussion since the 1980s.

I am therefore pessimistic that as presidential candidate, Mr. Puno can win in 2010. The stakes are just too high for the incumbent trapos and political dynasts in Malaca?ang and the Lower House to willingly give up their power and their perks to someone who, to them, is just a na?ve peddler of old-fashioned morality.

But I would like to see Mr.Puno named head of a revolutionary government?like President  Cory Aquino?s in 1986?which will govern this morally challenged country for a transition period of at least three years, with the consent and participation of key sectors of society: the military, the business and professional communities, the non-Communist labor unions, the Churches, the NGO organizations, the overseas workers, etc..

More than a year ago, I was told by those who claim to be in the know that such an overture was in fact made to Mr. Puno. I was told that he did not say Yes, but that he did not say No either.

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