EDITORIAL - President of all Filipinos

He is not the President only of his family or friends; he is the President of the Philippines, with a responsibility to all Filipinos.

President Marcos opened his fifth State of the Nation Address yesterday with this statement, as he vowed that no one would be spared in his anti-corruption campaign.

Just to bring home the message that he means business, the President said the “former speaker” would face court indictment soon, as announced by the ombudsman, in connection with the flood control and budget corruption scandal. It was a direct reference to his cousin, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez.

Opening his penultimate SONA with this issue showed the President responding to the clamor from many sectors, for him to do more in addressing corruption.

Accusations of selective justice, with those close to him perceived to be spared from prosecution, arrest and detention without bail, have cast doubts on the sincerity of the campaign that the President launched in his SONA last year, with his message to the corrupt to have some shame, “mahiya naman kayo.”

His message about being the President of all Filipinos is not new. Joseph Estrada, in his inaugural speech, vowed that his presidency would give no special favors to relatives and friends: “walang kaibigan, walang kumpare, walang kamag-anak.”

We all know how that inaugural promise fared.

President Marcos has two years to avoid having his anti-corruption campaign suffer the same fate. He seems aware that the litmus test of the sincerity of his campaign is how he deals with those close to him who are implicated in the corruption scandal.

He had previously said he entered politics to redeem the Marcos name. That the only son and namesake of dictator Ferdinand Marcos won the presidency – and by the largest margin ever – was spectacular enough. It would be equally spectacular if a genuine anti-corruption campaign would become the defining program of Ferdinand Marcos Junior.

“We have to do what is right,” the President said yesterday, as he admitted that it pained him to go after his first cousin.

The wheels of justice are moving and the push for reforms continues, the President reassured the public. The nation is holding him to his pronouncements.