EDITORIAL - Unearthing the truth

The sooner an impartial body starts investigating the latest allegations about jueteng payoffs, the better it will be for the nation. Those three men claiming to have personal knowledge of alleged payoffs to First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and his eldest son, Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo, must face an independent body where they can tell the truth, under oath.

This must be done quickly before the purported witnesses either disappear – silenced permanently, like pesky journalists – or else change their story, leaving the public wondering which political camp is the better manipulator of the truth. In this country, the cynical belief is that whistle-blowers in the lucrative illegal gambling business don’t just pop up because they were bothered by their conscience. Someone has to coax them out of a life of peaceful anonymity, and that someone is rarely without a personal political agenda.

Such personal motivations, however, are beside the point for those who are interested in the truth and in purging the nation of corruption that stems from jueteng. The nation can start with the identity of the person who gave P500,000 to Mikey Arroyo, as alleged by the three purported witnesses. His name is Tonton, the witnesses said, and he’s a son of Bataan Gov. Leonardo Roman. Pablo "Tonton" Roman III and his family have issued a statement, of course denying involvement in jueteng, but also clarifying that he is not a son of the Bataan governor.

While such minor details in the witnesses’ story are being ironed out, the nation should start scouting for individuals who can sit in an impartial probe body. The Department of Justice simply will not do, and neither will the Senate or the House of Representatives, both of which are packed with partisan characters, and where inquiries almost always hit a dead end.

It looks like there’s no stopping the next circus being prepared by Congress, however. So the next best thing for the nation is to sit back and hope something resembling the truth will come out of all the usual political hyperventilation. Who knows, the opposition might get its wish and we will have a new president, and we can only hope it will be someone better. At the very least, the person behind the purported witnesses might be unmasked. And if the three are found to be lying, the nation should start getting tough on slanderers and perjurers and give them the appropriate punishment.