1 These are the accoutrements of her office:
2 the blindfold symbolizing impartiality;
3 a golden pair of scales measuring the
validity
4 of evidence given both pro and con;
5 the double-edged sword that pierces through
6 the thick fabric of lies; Thoth's feather
7 of truth which ultimately determines whether
8 the defendant's life is worth saving.
9 In J. Elizalde Navarro's oil painting
titled
10 Is this Philippine Justice? The figure
11 of the Roman goddess Justitia slowly fades
12 into thin air, swallowed by pigments
13 cloudy as doubts. In my uncertain country
14 where right and wrong are cards
15 that can be shuffled like a pile of money
bills,
16 even the land's Chief Magistrate
17 is not immune from culpability; found guilty
18 he has to face the music of derision
