Can P-Noy handle an avalanche of truth?

No… P-Noy didn’t quite get his original Truth Commission. What he got is something better but it seems he doesn’t realize it. Truth had been raining in torrents the past few weeks with not just one but three witnesses spilling the sordid details of corruption in the armed forces.

And no, the suicide of General Angie Reyes does not change anything. If at all, it just showed that Angie’s personal sense of honor surfaced when he made the final sacrifice. Angie was the ultimate warrior, choosing death rather than dishonor. In pulling that trigger, he ended his personal turmoil but not the cloud of doubt around him and many of his fellow officers.

Angie should have taken a less final, less dramatic response to the revelations. There is no doubt Angie knew more than he let on about the corruption in the institution he so loved. He should have done something that would result in a dramatic change in the institutional culture of the military. He could have left a more lasting legacy by helping purge the military establishment of the corruption that has so damaged it all these years. 

As it stands, the public should be forgiven for being skeptical about the current congressional investigations. Past experiences show that after the sensational headlines have been published, everything quiets down and nothing more happens. Angie’s suicide may even crimp the future course of the current investigations to the detriment of the military’s institutional image.

I think we should proceed with the fact finding with the same fervor because what we have today is different. The auditor knew because she did her work well. The two colonels who spilled the beans had first hand knowledge too… from the dirty work they admitted doing and profiting from. They confirmed what we all suspected was going on for so long now.

These three people have placed their lives on the line by revealing what they knew. The least we can do aside from putting them under the witness protection program is to make sure their testimonies will not be in vain. P-Noy must put up a very competent legal team to make sure something useful happens out of those testimonies.

Let us not depend on the useless Office of the Ombudsman. We have to take things in our own hands and prove to the world that we are not helpless in dealing with the corruption that had just been brought to light.

It is time for all decent lawyers (that is not an oxymoron) to volunteer their time and expertise to perpetuate the testimonies in case anything happens to the witnesses. Good lawyers must also make sure the proper paper work is done so that the evidence they have are acceptable to any court.

We need something like what the private prosecutors did during the Erap impeachment trial. A team of our best DOJ prosecutors working with the best the local legal profession can offer should be able to send a few guilty parties to jail based on those testimonies.

What worries me is the impression that P-Noy is getting a little cold feet on this matter of military corruption. When he denounced media negativism the other Sunday, one of the negative news he cited was military corruption. I wondered why P-Noy would say that when all these revelations go along his campaign promise to purge corruption in government. This is part of his daang matuwid. I got the message that the Palace doesn’t want to tangle with the military. Why?

Did someone threaten them of dire consequen-ces if more stink in the armed forces are brought to light? Or maybe P-Noy is worried about a coup, arising from his traumatic experience of being caught in the firefight of one of the coups during his mother’s watch?

The way I see it, the current generals in the armed forces are even ready to help any effort to clean up the image of the organization. I believe them when they said they are angry at what the past leaderships of the armed forces have done.

The help of the current generals should be enlisted to gather even more evidence from their files or from their own investigations. Their inputs should be sought by this legal team of DOJ and private prosecutors of the cases against the rotten generals more air-tight.

All these revelations are truly hulog ng langit for P-Noy. He should concentrate on the truth being unleashed in those congressional hearings. For all we know the trail may eventually lead all the way to the top. P-Noy must show us he can handle an avalanche of truth.

The worse outcome is what Senator Frank Drilon says he fears: Gen Garcia laughing all the way to his bank. Hopefully too, the suicide of Angie Reyes will shock the military establishment, current and retired, to unite in cleaning up the practices of the organization. If this happens, Angie wouldn’t have died in vain.

Gunless society

Here is something interesting from Bahala Na Si Batman, the blog of my former schoolmate, Dennis Garcia.

Malaysia banned gun ownership — and look what it got them.

I consider Malaysia my second home.

Not surprising, really: I spent more than five fascinating years in Kuala Lumpur… and saw the country bloom spectacularly right before my eyes.

In my book, it is the best place in the region to raise kids (my three children grew up there) because it is one spot on earth where a parent never feels fear. Ever.

My youngest was “made in Malaysia”

Even the narrowest street is well-lit… there are no ‘kanto boys’ drinking at the ‘kanto’… and goons and/or bullies don’t exist.

There are no squatter colonies — or, my cataract-infested eyes simply never saw any in my years there.

And the government has the best deterrent against crime — no guns.

Under Malaysian laws — it is much easier to turn water into wine than to get the license to buy a gun. There are many reasons why the government has strong laws against it: for national security, to prevent gun violence, shootings and armed robbery as well as to minimize fear in the country.

There are very tight controls over guns and very harsh penalties for being caught carrying one.

That’s why, statistics show that Malaysia has a near zero or none at all rate, relating to gun violence or murder with firearms because of its strict laws. (Many think that having a gun with them would drive worries and anxieties away, but what about those who wish to hurt?)

For this unwavering ruthlessness to maintain a gun-less society… what benefits did the Malaysian people reap?

Tourist arrivals we can only fantasize about.

Rapid modernization leapfrogging that of other neighboring countries.

Unheard-of respect from first world countries.

National pride that’s not easy to instill in a multi-racial society.

So, can we expect a gun-less society in the Philippines?

Dream on, brother.

Our president loves guns with passion.

And so do his buddies.

Our politicians are scared shitless to leave home without packing heat. Or arming their goons.

That’s the way it is. The way it’ll always be.

Sadly, even in our dreams — a gun-less society will never happen.

TV watching

This was sent by Marilyn Robles-Mana-ay.

The wife and the husband were at home watching TV. The husband had the remote and was switching back and forth between a fishing channel and the porn channel.

She became more and more annoyed and finally said:

“For God’s sake! Leave it on the porn channel! You already know how to fish!”

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is mailto:[email protected]