EDITORIAL - The fight continues

This is a story that refuses to go away, and for good reason. Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, the confessed host of a $15,000 dinner for President Arroyo and her group in Washington, has admitted that his family’s corporation is applying for a P1-billion government loan.

Meanwhile, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez continues to keep mum on reports that he footed the $20,000 bill for a dinner for the President and her party in Manhattan’s Le Cirque fine dining restaurant. Romualdez has also not commented on reports that as chairman of the PCIBank in October 2005, he had caused the withdrawal of P138 million from the bank. The Sandiganbayan had ordered the amount held in escrow pending a ruling on whether the assets were ill-gotten.

The cash reportedly represented interests and dividends from shares of a company owned by Martin’s father Benjamin, brother of former first lady Imelda Marcos. The case was brought to the anti-graft court by the Presidential Commission on Good Government. Is either the PCGG or the Sandiganbayan going after Congressman Romualdez, a favorite traveling companion of the President?

These stories add a new dimension to the dinners, considered lavish in a developing country like the Philippines especially in a year of recession. The dinners were also seen to be in poor taste considering that these were held as the nation mourned the death of former President Corazon Aquino. Subsequent reports said it was Romualdez’s US-based brother Daniel who had picked up the tab in the New York dinner. But regardless of which sibling footed the bill, questions have been raised about the propriety of the President accepting a P1-million wedding anniversary gift from a member of Imelda Marcos’ family. Apart from the fact that most Marcos assets are still locked in litigation, family members are also engaged in businesses that could profit enormously from having the ear of the nation’s highest official.

The public perception is that when the administration is not looking after its cronies, it is looking after the interests of the First Family. Constitutional experts are opposing moves to create a new congressional district in Cama-rines Sur tailor-made for the Presi-dent’s younger son Diosdado.

Such issues are contributing to renewed fervor for the ideals promoted by former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., whose death anniversary was commemorated yesterday, and former President Cory Aquino. As Their only son Noynoy, now a senator, noted yesterday, building a monument to his mother was useless if the person behind the project did not carry on her advocacies for freedom and good governance. The acts of this administration have reawakened the need to continue the battles of Ninoy and Cory Aquino.