Driving force

If it were an ordinary case of a person being accused of crimes, then one can understand the simplistic approach of some senators in the case against Panfilo Lacson. No paper trail, no case. No documentary evidence, no charges. The trouble is: It is not anordinary case of a person being criminally charged. It is that and much more.

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An effort to transform the Philippines into a narco-state. Col. Victor Corpus has been at pains trying to explain to the senators and the public at large that the Panfilo Lacson case is about a determined effort to transform the Philippines into a narco-state. The election of Panfilo Lacson as senator itself is the flash point, the warning signal that unless more responsible sections of our society wake up to the danger now, the country may find it difficult if not impossible to stop its ineluctable advance.

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Why a Senate hearing had to be resorted to. That is why there was such a rush to break "The Case against Panfilo Lacson" to the public. Mindful of the lessons from Erap’s impeachment, Corpus et al, chose a Senate hearing as the fastest way to consolidate both public and official awareness of the problem in the quickest possible time. The gamble was that a televised hearing would encourage witnesses to come forward with both testimonies and documentary evidence. to reinforce the Corpus allegations. Without a close partnership between government and citizenry in confronting the threat, very little could be done.The tough going at the Senate illustrates how difficult the problem is. To keep him in a position of power is to allow him to promote and advance the agenda of the international drug enterprise. Indeed, the first order of action against the threat should be to remove Lacson from the Senate.

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How is this to be done ? With Lacson presently playing the party card, it will be difficult but not impossible. As witnesses testify and evidence piles in, sooner or later he will be forced to make an appearance in the Senate and face his accusers. He did not attend the Thursday’s hearing and instead joined the Senate committee in Basilan. . He claims it was a party decision that he stay away from the hearing.

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A misplaced party loyalty. Just how long he can postpone facing his accusers depends on the other senators, particularly his party mates in the opposition. Lacson may be calculating that , as in the case of Erap, it will be politics as usual, provided there is enough money to sustain the party coffers. After all, despite the impeachment and the serious accusations against the former President, his party mates have remained with him. Walang iwanan. Whether this misplaced loyalty can be broken and other senatorial partymates can rise above party interest for the sake of the country remains to be seen. Remember that during Erap’s own trial, his partymates-senators voted not to open the envelop. They preferred to block the constitutional process, an act that provoked EDSA2. So far the opposition senators who could lead a breakaway - Senators Pimentel, Angara, and Biazon - are unmoved. Acting with instincts derived from old politics, the opposition views the Corpus allegations as Malacanang-instigated that they must resist and use all means to thwart. That will be a tragedy for the country.

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Breaking the impasse. But all is not lost. As in the Erap Senate trial, so too will it be in the Lacson hearing. It is the people once again who will have to take up the cudgels in yet another crisis on their road to full and mature nationhood. There are many who rail against the use of people power in forcing reform in governance yet make no offer on how to break the impasse of corruption and incompetence. But the driving force to change the way this country is run comes from the people. Without their willingness to challenge the old bad ways, there is no hope for reform.

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Criminality in government with international connections. Until we are brought to the brink, we would just as happily coast along as if problems will solve themselves without working hard or making sacrifices for it. We a re approaching that brink. It is not just corruption and incompetence that is threatening this nation but criminality in government, criminality with international connections that began in Marcos’ time , resurrected during Erap’s and poised to continue under the ambitious Panfilo Lacson unless it is stopped.

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Miscellany: On Monday, Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr, the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism will receive Freedom Awards from the Joaquin Chino Roces Foundation with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the guest of honor…..With Speaker Jose de Venecia spearheading the project, the billion trees movement is off to a solid start. It is a multi-agency effort to reforest mountains throughout the country. Moreover it will immediately give jobs to thousands of families, making them instant entrepreneurs. Among those who signed the memorandum of agreement were the DENR represented by Sec. Heherson Alvarez, Manila Water Company, Inc by Antonino Aquino, National Electrification Administration by Administrator Manuel Luis Sanchez, Office of the Government Corporate Counsel by Dean Amado Valdez, Public Estates Authority by Chairman Ernest Villareal, PNOC by President Thelmo Cunanan, BCDA by Chairman and President Rogelio Singson, National Power Corporation by President Jesus Alcordo, National Livelihood Support Fund by Eugenia Sinnung, MWSS by Jose F. Mabanta and Local Waterworks and Utilities Administration by Lorenzo H. Jamora….The Ramos Peace and Development Foundation (RPDEV) is hosting the 3rd FVR-RPDEV Lecture Series on September 13 at 2:30 athe Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium of RCBC Plaza….Ongoing is a special 5-day course on governance and accountability at the AIM. About 193 mayors and 27 governors from Western Visayas and Mindanao are participating in the program sponsored by Philippines-Canada Local Support Program. The program is a cooperative effort of four academic and training institutions and Canadian municipal government…Also in September, a favorite advocacy group of mine, the Terelay Investment & Development Corporation is sponsoring a conference on "The Quest for Community: New Urbanism in Asia". This will be held on September 12 and 13 at the Acceed Conference Center. I’ll write more on this. The group is becoming an institution for those who would like to see a more planning for our cities. Those who are intersted call telephone 848-1639 and ask for Deborah Tolentino…As I have written in the past, I help the Philippine Eagle Foundation by putting them in touch with potential donors but recently something very providential happened without any special effort from any of us. As Executive Director Dennis Salvador puts it, it was serendipity. It was not entirely luck though because the right set of circumstances was there, quipped PEF president Carlos A. Pedrosa. A generous couple visited the breeding center in Malagos, Davao and after seeing the work there and how it relates to the preservation of our forests and sustainable development, they gave a generous donation for the care of one eaglet not just for a year but for six years.They do not want publicity but we were able to coax them to accept even this small paragraph as an inspiration for others who might want to pitch in for this very laudable effort of preserving our national symbol — the mighty Philippine Eagle. Those who want more information on the Philippine Eagle and how to help preserve this vanishing national treasure can course their queries through this column.

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