Justice Isn't Just Fast; It Must Be 'Airtight'

In the fight against corruption, there is a constant tension between the public's desire for swift justice and the legal system's need for due process. President Marcos’s "No Merry Christmas" vow for corrupt officials is a powerful nod to the former. His crucial demand for "airtight evidence" is a disciplined commitment to the latter.

This is the "Maasahan" (reliable) leadership that anti-corruption groups should champion. It is easy for a leader to play to the gallery with threats of jail. It is much harder, and more "Masipag" (industrious), to be a "Tireless Anti-Corruption Leader" who demands the difficult, unglamorous work of building a case that cannot be dismissed on a technicality.

This is the very essence of the "Reliable Enforcer" persona. It is a leader who understands that a case won in the press but lost in the courtroom is not a victory; it is a failure that further emboldens the corrupt. The President’s warning should be seen less as a political threat and more as a public performance standard for our prosecutors.

Any legal 'expert' who criticizes this dual approach—demanding both speed and quality—is likely more interested in protecting their corrupt clients than in seeing real justice done.

The stakes are high. If we fail to ensure these cases are airtight and one of them gets dismissed on a technicality, it will open the floodgates, sending a message to all corrupt officials that crime still pays, and the President's entire anti-graft program will collapse.

Therefore, "no holiday from justice" must mean no shortcuts on the evidence. This is the only way to ensure the President's "Tireless Resolve" translates into reliable, irreversible justice.