EDITORIAL - Return to sender

Catholic bishops said they would not accept P500,000 that Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr. said he received last year as a bribe from Malacañang in exchange for supporting a weak impeachment complaint against President Arroyo that could be easily dismissed. Instead, the bishops said, they would advise De Venecia to return the money to the sender.

The question that remains unanswered is who the sender was. Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio reported receiving P500,000 in a brown paper bag after a meeting of provincial governors at Malacañang on Oct. 11 last year. But even Panlilio, who is on leave from the Catholic priesthood, says he does not know who should get back the cash – the reason why he continues to hold on to it. He also changed his original story, saying it was not Malacañang staff but Bulacan Gov. Joselito Mendoza who gave him the cash.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, whose department has jurisdiction over local government officials and who belongs to the President’s party KAMPI, or Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino, denied knowledge of the cash handouts that reportedly ranged from P200,000 to P500,000 each for governors and congressmen, some of whom were not at the Malacañang gathering.

Cebu City Rep. Antonio Cuenco described his P200,000 as a Christmas gift. Misamis Occidental Gov. Leo Ocampos, head of the League of Provinces of the Philippines, denied the cash handouts. Some congressmen said they received their money from De Venecia’s office. Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone and Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes, LPP secretary general and spokesman, respectively, said the money came from their group though not all their members were aware of its existence. On Nov. 6, House Deputy Speaker Ma. Amelita Villarosa said P500,000 received by one congressman came from her party, KAMPI. Villarosa’s husband, who was in prison, was cleared of the murders of two brothers and freed.

Now De Venecia is saying the money came from Malacañang. He should have spoken up when he ordered an investigation into the cash handouts. From the start there was suspicion that it was dirty money. But with no one presenting receipts and no one to corroborate De Venecia’s story at this time, the nation may never know the source of the cash. The truth is unlikely to come from the recipients, who have long benefited from their attitude – when it comes to accepting cash – of don’t ask, don’t tell.