PHILSTAR: UNCOVERING THE TRUTH
MANILA, JULY 30, 2011 - (PHILSTAR) SKETCHES By Ana Marie Pamintuan - The Truth Commission was formed because President Aquino couldn't trust the Office of the Ombudsman to do its job.
Most of the presidential candidates in the 2010 race included the battle against corruption in their campaign promises. But only candidate Noynoy Aquino unequivocally vowed to go after the crooks in the Arroyo administration.
The inability to make a similar commitment proved to be the undoing of Sen. Manny Villar, reinforcing rumors that he had cut a deal with the Arroyo administration in exchange for its support in the elections. This rumor in turn further weakened the campaign of the official administration candidate, Gilbert Teodoro.
Villar and Teodoro pitched competence among their qualifications for the presidency. They had clear objectives – you can even call it a vision – for the nation in case they won. They each had a road map, a blueprint – everything that critics are now demanding from P-Noy as he enters his second year.
Yet in the end, voters gave the presidency by a landslide to the son of Corazon Aquino, who was untested in executive work and, as far as critics were (and still are) concerned, lacking in vision and direction.
A year hence, even some of the President's supporters are sighing that in this country, you can't have everything.
A good president, these supporters say, is one who is honest, competent and hard-working.
They note that Fidel Ramos displayed all of those qualities during his presidency, but in moderate doses, particularly on the honesty part.
Erap had none of those qualities, the supporters say, although his irresistible natural charm and cinema mystique captivated the masses.
GMA, the supporters say, was competent and hard-working.
And P-Noy is… well… honest.
The hiss from the snake pit is that P-Noy is starting to be irritated by these jokes.
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Believing that all those voters wanted him to deliver on a key campaign promise, but thinking that the ombudsman was in his way, P-Noy issued his first executive order, which reflected his priorities in his presidency. EO No. 1 created the Truth Commission.
Even some P-Noy supporters, however, had misgivings about the creation of the Truth Commission. This week the Supreme Court threw out EO No. 1 with finality.
But Malacañang is no longer worried. Merceditas Gutierrez has peacefully bowed out of the Office of the Ombudsman and has stayed away from the limelight since then.
Her replacement, Conchita Carpio-Morales, is not saddled by perceptions that she is a coddler of friends in need. Carpio-Morales' challenge is to avoid being seen as beholden, like Gutierrez, to the appointing power. Uncovering the truth behind anomalies of the past, which the Truth Commission was supposed to do, is now the task of Carpio-Morales.
She will still have to establish her credentials for independence and fairness in her new position. P-Noy should welcome this, because a truly independent ombudsman will lend credibility to his anti-corruption campaign. An independent ombudsman can also keep an eye out for any member of P-Noy's official family who might be tempted to abuse power and privilege when the President isn't looking.
With Carpio-Morales sworn in, P-Noy can only hope that the cases handled by the ombudsman against those accused of graft and plunder will be airtight.
This should be true particularly in the cases filed against Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Only solid evidence will blunt accusations that her prosecution is nothing but political vendetta and a witch-hunt.
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The path to the conviction of Joseph Estrada for plunder was tortuous. It required years of painstaking spadework, a lot of resources and regular overtime for the prosecutors.
The heavy work worsened Simeon Marcelo's insomnia and the other symptoms of andropause, prompting him to quit as ombudsman. But the dogged spadework paid off, and Erap became the first president – and the first big fish – to be convicted of the new crime of plunder.
Some lawyers have expressed concern that plunder complaints are being filed haphazardly by publicity hounds against GMA and her former officials, and the sloppy preparation of cases could lead to acquittals despite the existence of solid evidence.
The government must remember that guilt should be established beyond reasonable doubt to secure a conviction. Sloppy prosecution could inject that reasonable doubt. Acquittal on that basis does not necessarily mean innocence, but it can bolster accusations of a political witch-hunt, and it weakens an anti-corruption campaign.
This also goes for the tax evasion cases filed against large-scale evaders. In this, investigators of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Department of Justice should have an easier time, because assets are officially declared and there are ownership papers that can be used to compute taxable assets and income. These cases can lead to the forfeiture of ill-gotten wealth. In the absence of laws against racketeering in this country (possibly because some of the most notorious racketeers are lawmakers), this will have to do.
Among those slapped with cases of tax evasion are GMA's relatives. All have dismissed the cases as harassment.
GMA and her supporters have always shrugged off accusations of wrongdoing during her presidency. Their challenge to detractors has always been: Prove it.
There's no room for complacency in confronting that challenge.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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