This week we were reminded again that the most riveting hearings do not necessarily make sound cases.
In both chambers of Congress, we saw various witnesses paraded and given the chance to answer questions based on their supposed inside knowledge of persons, events and activities that are the subject of investigation.
At the House of Representatives, convicted criminals imprisoned at the National Bilibid Prison talked about their supposed connivance with Senator Leila de Lima who, as secretary of the Department of Justice, allowed very important prisoners at the maximum-security compound to enjoy privileges as though they were in their respective homes.
All these, they said, were in exchange for money that eventually funded De Lima’s senatorial run.
These scenarios described were all arresting, if only the credibility of those who talked about them were not in question.
Over at the Senate, Edgardo Matobato appeared to wither under questioning by lawmakers regarding his supposed role in the Davao Death Squad, supposedly led by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte.
Matobato did not seem able to back his claims about how he and the rest of the squad played god over the lives of their victims, and frequently gave the impression that he did not comprehend the questions because of his limited educational attainment.
A neophyte senator, the boxer Emmanuel Pacquiao, pointed out that a testimony that was so inconsistent was hardly credible.
How then do we convince ourselves that listening to these testimonies was not just a waste of time despite their shock value?
Assuming—and we do this with high hope and in good faith—that actual court cases would come out of these exciting hearings, we expect that other evidence would surface to support or debunk these fantastic testimonies.
Credibility aside, human memory is rarely reliable proof. Even if one is not coached, coerced or paid to play the part of witness, memory and perception are subjective. Imagine how vested interests can weaken the testimony, if not render it useless.
Filipinos have seen many such colorful witnesses. We are tired of them. We want to see how cases are built, tried, won or lost on the strength of sound proof.