Impeachment: Like kettles harassing the pots

What does the Philippines have in common with Azebaijan, Bangladesh, Honduras, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, Ukraine and Zimbabwe? They all enjoy the dubious distinction of sharing 134th place among 178 countries in Transparency International’s 2010 corruption index.

A ranking of 134 generates a score of 2.4 in Transparency International’s scale of 10, with 10 being the cleanest, and 0 being the most corrupt. With the Philippines ranking 134th, it shares the company of three quarters of the countries in the world with a score of less than 5.

Transparency International defines corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. This definition encompasses corrupt practices in both the public and private sectors. Based on such definition, corruption encompasses the entire gamut of Philippine life.

Unfortunately for the Philippines, the anti-corruption platform of President Aquino encompasses only corruption he perceives in his political enemies, most notably former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her allies and former officials.

For Aquino and his own allies and officials to specifically target only his political enemies gives the wrong signal to the rest of Transparency International Corruption Index 134th placer Philippines that they are outside the danger zone and everything is as they always were.

On the other hand, selectively targetting only Arroyo and her allies and former officials gives the clearest and most unmistakable sign that Aquino is not really sincere in his campaign to rid this country of corruption.

This is not to say he must spare Arroyo et al. If the evidence warrants, then by all means they should be held to account. But Aquino and his allies must, at the same time, go after everyone else, including his own family members, if any, and his friends and supporters.

I do not believe, however, that Aquino can rise above his own petty political interests. He is so personally consumed by the desire to get back at Arroyo that he cannot even have the decency to let his minions do the dirty hatchet job themselves.

Aquino lacks the finesse and dignified deference to high office, and the subtlety and guile of good breeding that he personally had to crack the whip and order his political party to impeach Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, an Arroyo appointee.

Gutierrez was also the subject of impeachment complaints during the time of Arroyo, but at least Arroyo had the sense not to make a public spectacle of herself by ordering her political party at the time not to touch Gutierrez.

If Arroyo protected Gutierrez, as most suspect she did, at least she must have done it through back channels. In the case of Aquino, it is all up front, no ambiguities. He wants to get back at Arroyo and all her appointees and former officials.

Actually, there is no problem with that. That has always been what Philippine politics is all about — you get back at your enemies, destroy their legacies, and then start your own and pray you get to stay long enough before newer enemies get their own chance to mow you down.

The problem lies with the pretense, with the hypocrisy. If Aquino is truly sincere in fighting corruption, why is his focus only on Arroyo et al and not on the other areas infested with so much corruption that the Philippines had to place 134th in a global corruption index.

On paper, impeachment may seem like a great constitutional way to hold into account some inherently powerful officials. But it is tragically wrong to place the authority to impeach in the hands of officials many of whom are more corrupt than those they seek to impeach.

The purpose of impeachment is good. But the pursuit of it in the Philippines is bad. Here, the accusers are almost exactly like the accused. They only wear different clothes, and often enough to conveniently hide their real souls.