I hope I am wrong but recent events dismally show that the reforms promised by this administration will be long in coming or will not come at all; that we will have more of the same kind of abominable practices and tactics used by the previous government.
Noteworthy among these practices is the tendency of officials in this administration to immediately excuse themselves by blaming the past administration for the hitches and problems they are now encountering in their jobs; and to publicly air the irregularities and aberrations they have allegedly discovered which should have been immediately remedied or at least minimized by now but somehow still persist, thus showing that nothing much has been done about them.
More alarming and deplorable here are the acts of immediately jumping into conclusions that malign others and damage reputations, and of publicly airing them right away only to be eventually proven wrong. The outcry over the “Pajero 7 Bishops” proves this point. The entire brouhaha could have been avoided if a quiet and more thorough investigation asking the bishops’ explanation was done first. But since this was not done, the entire Church itself has been damaged, creating animosities and division in the nation. If we have a leadership according to Archbishop Soc Villegas’ description which requires not only integrity but ability to unite the country, this discord would not have happened.
Another disturbing development is the reported move of this administration to use persons who are themselves involved in past electoral frauds to pin down the past president for the same alleged massive frauds committed in the 2004 and 2007 elections. Two of them are Comelec officials, Virgilio Garcellano and Lintang Bedol. The other one is former Governor Zaldy Ampatuan of Maguindanao. Garcellano was the Comelec Commissioner who initially denied any irregularities in the 2004 elections then conveniently disappeared obviously to prevent the truth from coming out when needed most. Bedol was already found guilty by the Comelec and sentenced to six months imprisonment precisely because he also went into hiding and would not cooperate. Ampatuan was the governor during the elections when the alleged fraud occurred in Maguindanao. Obviously those alleged frauds would not have occurred without their cooperation. They are equally guilty and should also be prosecuted. Or at least they should be charged first before being discharged as witnesses.
More unfortunate is the apparent kid gloves treatment these personalities are now receiving. Bedol was reportedly in the custody of the DILG before he was turned over to the Comelec. He was even allowed to be interviewed by ABS-CBN while in custody. In other countries, he would have been immediately handcuffed and clamped in jail to serve his sentence. On the other hand Zaldy Ampatuan, who is now also one of the prime accused in the Maguindanao massacre of 57 people, was reported to have been secretly visited by no less than P-Noy himself in his jail cell to ferret out more information about the alleged cheating. (Spy Bits, by Babe G. Romualdez, PhilSTAR, July 19, 2011). In other countries he would have been arraigned, tried and sentenced, if guilty, as fast as possible. But here he has not yet been arraigned after more than one year. Then, there are also Malacanang “feelers” for Garcillano to already come out and tell all. Even the Comelec Chairman is “appealing” to him.
By giving them so much importance, they are now being lionized by the press and treated as celebrities. Somehow the subliminal message conveyed here is that “crime pays”. If anybody wants to be famous and get some VIP treatment one has to commit or be involved in some sensational wrongdoings. Indeed it is not farfetched to imagine that Bedol may eventually run for public office in his province or hometown later on like what Garcillano and Joc Joc Bolante did. And he may even win because of the undue publicity he is reaping now if he learns lessons from the loss of Garcillano and Bolante. Ampatuan may also be re-elected as governor of Maguindanao again even if he is on trial for the massacre. He can emulate the example of Jalosjos who was elected Congressman even if he was tried and found guilty of rape.
Even if this administration is not striking any deal with these people, it should call off at once any plans to use them as witnesses. In the first place, they are the most unreliable witnesses. All of them initially denied any irregularities committed. Now they are singing a completely different tune. There is no assurance that later on they will flip-flop again and retract what they are spilling now. Besides, because of flip flopping, their testimonies will no longer have even an iota of credibility. No one will believe any of their versions.
Furthermore, they will only be helping the cause of the other side if they use these witnesses. They can easily be impeached or discredited. Under the Rules of Court, (Section 11, Rule 132), a witness may be impeached by the party against whom he was called by contradictory evidence, by evidence that his general reputation for truth, honesty, or integrity is bad, or by evidence that he has made at other times, statements inconsistent with his present testimony xxx”. It is quite clear that any of these grounds may be used to discredit these three possible witnesses and cause the collapse of the entire case.
To be sure, Garcillano, Bedol and Ampatuan are not really that valuable. Their testimonies are not necessary. The administration can just dig up that famous report of former Philippine Navy Chief, Commodore Mayuga which was announced to have been officially submitted already way back in 2006, but up to now, its contents have not yet been revealed. In said report there are enough information and list of witnesses who can testify particularly some generals; unless of course said report has completely vanished into thin air.
P-Noy must therefore realize that even if he means well for our country there are still so many hazards and humps along the matuwid na daan.
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E-mail at: jcson@pldtdsl.net