The arrogance of power

In the wake of the Senate inquiry into the infamous ZTE/NBN backlash despite its abortion, the crux of the upheaval is the arrogance of power unabated.

It’s not passé to cite that British nobleman, Lord Acton, who aptly said that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In essence, the root cause of corruption and everything evil in politics and government isn’t money or wealth per se, but it is the greed for power. Money is just a means or necessary tool to attain and to perpetuate power.

For instance, other than the main stakeholders, who were the “brokers” behind the multi-million deal whom then NEDA head Romulo Neri had allegedly forewarned project handler Jun Lozada for him to “moderate their greed”?

Quoting both Joey de Venecia III and Jun Lozada, and gleaning from Neri’s testimony, these were the First Gentleman who allegedly barked at Joey to “back off”, and ex-Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos whom Jun Lozada attributed as insisting to protect his $130 M expected manna. And, even Joey himself was a crucial stakeholder that he also put on the line his father’s political fortunes with the First Family, just to save his chunk of the ZTE/NBN pie.

In a way, the ZTE/NBN scam was a clash, or even a confluence, of the executive, the legislative, and the Comelec powers. The only non-entity was Jun Lozada, albeit he too was in a position of power on delegation by then NEDA chief Neri. That the conflict of power getting blown in his face for failure to “moderate the greed” of all concerned, is just unfortunate turn of events. Had everything been ironed out smooth, would Lozada be without his piece of the pie?

The ZTE/NBN imbroglio also illustrates how the arrogance of power works in tiers, or in turfs and/or compartmentalized surges and exclusivity. Just as the pecking order among roosters is defined by the head cock as to which hens he deigns to copulate, or by the pissing range or smelling territory the reigning/bully dog chooses to pee, so is the turf of arrogance delineated by human powers that be.

When the greed over sharing of profits had gone awry before the project ever took off, making capital for political mileage, or even plain “ego-tripping”, in pinpointing responsibility for corruption, has also shifted to another level or tier of arrogance.

Hence, it’s now the turn of the Senators who are lapping it up over the tri-media. The Senate “skit” has blossomed into full “zarzuela”, of course starring the Senators whose mundane questions are repetitive and senselessly bereft of logic at times. It appears that many solons are more interested in their kilometric questions than in the answers. Above all, note the arrogance of power whenever the poor “witness” isn’t satisfactory in his response.

   In fact, in the case of Senators Miriam Santiago, Joker Arroyo, and Juan Ponce Enrile whose political slips came out in full view, their individual haughtiness in grilling Jun Lozada was obvious. Conversely, for anti-GMA solons, their oozing empathy for the witness was equally nauseating.

Likewise, the same arrogance also surfaced when practically all the “government’s men” in Gen. Razon, Sec. Lito Atienza, et al. subtly ganged up on Jun Lozada to belie his claim that he was “abducted” or “kidnapped” by you-know-who upon his arrival at the NAIA from Hong Kong.

All these odds and numbers, and all the resources of the establishment ranged against him like a ton of bricks, it’s to the almost incredible credit of Jun Lozada that he has stood his ground. Credibility, after all, isn’t a matter of arrogance of numbers, but in the quality of the truth which spontaneously persuades the highest public credulity.

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