Zuce or Dickey: Who will unlock the truth?

That bit of wit came from public relations man Reli German. Knowing which side of the political fence he’s partial to these days, it’s safe to assume that Reli’s bet is on forensic expert Barry Dickey, and not on the opposition’s jueteng/election-cheating witness Michaelangelo Zuce who will open the door to the truth behind the now muddled issues.

It was Environment Secretary Mike Defensor who brought Dickey into our consciousness as he cited Dickey’s statement that the "Hello Garci" tape cannot be used in the impeachment complaint being pushed by opposition lawmakers because these contained "anomalies."

According to Dickey, whose company Audio-Video Evidence Lab is based in Arlington, Texas, "the results suggest that the audio is the resultant of several transfers which involved the audio being recorded/encoded/decoded by different devices. Dickey added that the two tracks from the Garci tapes that he studied lacked start signatures, the distinct marks created by the activation of a recording device. He said those marks can be found in original recordings.

Now, why should we believe him? Apparently, Dickey has handled over a thousand cases of audio authentication. He was the expert that media heavyweights like CNN and Fox News consulted to authenticate the voice of Osama Bin Laden after the 9-11 tragedy that hit the United States four years ago. If no less than US President George Bush believed him, who is Mike Defensor to doubt his findings?

Thus, the big challenge for the Opposition now is to top Dickey’s findings. Can they? Abangan ang marami pang susunod na kabanata ng telenovelang ito.

In the meantime, Defensor came up with still another blast over the weekend when he said that there are ongoing reconciliation talks between the Gloria and Erap camps. As Mighty Mike’s revelation came just as his tocayo Mike Velarde was to celebrate his birthday in Luneta last Sunday, the possibility of a make-up between Arroyo and Estrada gained credence since Velarde has invited both incumbent and former chief executives to attend the gathering.

This was not to be, as close advisers of both Gloria and Erap quickly torpedoed the plan. Did Defensor commit a tactical blunder, or did he make the revelation as a political ploy? That there have been talks between Mike and Erap was not denied by the latter.

This simply shows that the administration is determined to reach out to foes (and hopefully win them over), as even GMA went out of her way to make beso-beso with former President Cory in last Sunday’s commemoration of the 22nd anniversary of Ninoy Aquino’s assassination. As everyone knows, Cory, together with members of the Hyatt 10, has supported calls for Gloria’s resignation.

There’s more to these development than meets the eye.

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Today, the Justice Committee in Congress takes up where it left off last week in the impeachment complaint filed against the President. I may be mistaken, but I have the impression that the public has become indifferent to the proceedings, considering the seemingly endless exchange of words between the opposing camps, on the matter of technicalities in the committee’s rules and regulations.

As a televised ongoing event, the pace of the proceedings has become boring to viewers who probably expect the kind of fast-paced drama and excitement provided by the Senate investigation on the complaints filed against Erap that eventually led to his ouster.

It doesn’t help that some opposition congressmen have demanded that Committee Chairman Congressman Simeon Datumanong inhibit himself from the proceedings because of his alleged bias in favor of GMA. The basis for this is Datumanong’s statement in a TV interview that the committee should consider only the complaint filed by lawyer Oliver Lozano, and that the "Garci" tapes are inadmissible as evidence. This constitutes pre-judgment, the opposition claims.

Datumanong does belong to the House majority. However, a check of his track record as a public servant will not indicate that he is incapable of fairness. His performance as former Secretary of Justice was unmarked by dishonesty or rank prejudice, or of being unjust in his handling of cases brought before his department.

The opposition should probably just heed the advice of maverick administration Senator Joker Arroyo that instead of getting embroiled in arguments over technicalities, the opposition should simply work to get the 79 signatures required for the complaint to go direct to the Senate without need of deliberation in the House.

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For me, the interesting things to look out for in the papers are no longer the "Garci" tape and the jueteng scandals. I watch out for the full-page advertisements in which signatories declare their positions on certain issues. One such paid ad that came out in the papers was the instruction to the Philippine Congress to "uphold the rule of law." The signatories were Arsenio B. Yulo Jr., Judge Federico T. Alikpala Jr., Federico R. Agcaoili, and Rolando P. de la Cuesta, all past presidents of the Philippine Bar Association.

According to the luminaries above, the rule of law allows only one impeachment complaint per year. The Supreme Court, in keeping with a constitutional provision, barred a second impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Davide for being initiated on the same year as the first complaint. "The constitutional one-year bar rule is precisely intended to afford breathing space for impeachable officers, like the President, to focus on their functions. More importantly, this rule is precisely aimed at preventing destabilization that may tear the fabric of our democratic institutions."

The impeachment proceedings against President Arroyo, the four said, had already been initiated by the filing of the impeachment complaint filed by Attorney Lozano and its referral by Speaker Jose de Venecia to the Office of the Secretary General and to the Committee on Justice. Hence, other impeachment complaints in the guise of supplemental Complaints and Amended Complaint, may no longer be filed without violating the constitutional one-year bar rule."

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Two full-page ads were signed by "500 top independent women in civil society" who support GMA as "still the best option vs. chaos." The 500 signatories said, among others, that "we love our country and we firmly believe," that "we can earn the esteem of the community of nations"… that our government can come up with a citizenry that is decently fed, clothed, sheltered, and schooled… that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, as our duly elected president, with the constitutional right and duty to serve out her term, can with God’s grace and our help bring about the above situation… that the present unsubstantiated charges hurled against GMA with illegally obtained ‘evidence’ presented by people of questionable repute are flimsy grounds that cannot merit a demand for her resignation… that, with time and sweat, tears and pain, patience and determination, we can with God’s help bring about our redemption."

Some of the signatories are friends of mine, who invited me to affix my signature to their petition. Most of them were active anti-Marcos rallyists, and appear on TV shows and talk about their convictions. The signatories include Rosie Osmena-Valencia, Teresita D. Baltazar, Pacita Manglapus, Fides Cuyugan-Asencio, Precy Fugoso, and of course, Evelyn Kilayko, that cariñosa Ilonga dentist who minces no words when she talks about injustices being committed in Philippine society.

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My e-mail: [email protected]