EDITORIAL - Accusations

The most surprising thing about the story of Wilfredo Mayor is that he has named names, notably that of President Arroyo’s eldest son, Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo. If not for the big names, the public would dismiss as common knowledge any story about a barangay chairman giving jueteng money to the town vice mayor, who in turn hands over the money to the provincial governor, congressmen, police officials and journalists.

Not too surprising are the amounts of monthly bribes that Mayor claims to have passed on to former Pampanga vice mayor Arthur Naguit for delivery to Arroyo as well as Albay Reps. Carlos Imperial, Criselda Lagman-Luistro and Joey Salceda. Mayor also claimed protection money was sent to police officers led by Arturo Lomibao, who now heads the Philippine National Police, officials of the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the National Bureau of Investigation as well as journalists based in Metro Manila. All those implicated in the scandal have denied the accusations, and there are now reports that Mayor was paid by a lawmaker to discredit the administration.

Will we ever know the whole truth? In telling his story to the Senate, Mayor probably found strength in the fact that he is backed by Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who is an anti-jueteng crusader. Even if Cruz is not a lawyer, however, he surely sees that unless Naguit corroborates the story of Mayor, a barangay captain of Daraga in Albay, there is no case against all the individuals mentioned. And even if Naguit becomes, even if unwittingly, a whistle-blower, the case against deposed President Joseph Estrada shows just how hard it can be to prove jueteng payoffs.

Will jueteng bring down another president? So far no one has linked President Arroyo directly to any payoff, although the accusations against her son, husband and brother-in-law have dealt her a major political blow. Now that names have been mentioned, the Senate must not add this case to the long list of inquiries left hanging, with people left to believe what they want. The public will not trust an investigation of congressmen by their own peers. Those implicated in this scandal should be the first to push for an impartial probe if they want to clear their names. If this case is left unresolved, it will only further undermine the rule of law and weaken the republic.