EDITORIAL - Let the truth come out

The nation bates its breath as it awaits Monday, when Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson promises to tell all about alleged jueteng payoffs to the high and mighty. Singson, once one of the closest friends of President Estrada, is on the warpath after a new form of gambling muscled in on jueteng operations in his turf, with most of the proceeds going to professional gambler Charlie "Atong" Ang, now a consultant of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. The last straw for Singson was a brush with traffic cops in Manila, which police said was just a minor traffic infraction, but which Singson said was an attempt to assassinate him.

In media interviews and in talks with Senate Minority Leader Teofisto Guingona, Singson has since admitted his involvement in jueteng operations in his region. But he claims to be merely a "bagman" and maintains that he delivered P10 million a month to Malacañang officials from November 1998 until August this year, when he had a falling out with his old friend.

The virulence of the adminis-tration’s response indicates how  damaging Singson’s tale is perceived. President Estrada is by turns angry and hurting, calling the allegations a pack of lies. Senate President Pro Tempore Blas Ople has warned that the allegations could lead to the ouster, not of any Malacañang official but of Guingona. Palace officials say Singson can’t be allowed to turn state witness in exchange for immunity because this is only possible for the least guilty. Administration lawmakers are conducting a head count to make sure no impeachment initiated by the opposition will prosper as a result of Singson’s revelations.

Singson’s story, however, is like toothpaste that can no longer be squeezed back into the tube. Here is a confessed jueteng lord, once a member of the President’s closest circle of advisers called the Midnight Cabinet, vowing to tell all. With his livelihood and his life on the line, Singson has thrown caution to the winds and is giving the nation an opportunity to peek into corruption at the highest levels. At the very least, the public deserves to know why Bingo-2 Ball, the legal form of jueteng, could start operations with a mere verbal order from the Office of the President, why all earnings from the new game should be deposited in the account of Atong Ang’s company, out of which he will remit to Pagcor only 23 percent. How can Malacañang feign ignorance, when several months ago, the legal form of jueteng was the subject of a meeting among top police and Pagcor officials, alleged gambling lord Bong Pineda and Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora?

At the very least, the public deserves to hear Singson’s entire story. If he’s lying, the government can always come out with a rebuttal. Only the wrongdoers are afraid of the truth.