Editorial - Fight vs. corruption can be corrupted

Presidential political adviser Ronald Llamas getting caught buying pirated DVDs worth P2,000 is not the same as former president Gloria Arroyo getting accused of stealing from the nation and rigging elections.

It is also not the same as Chief Justice Renato Corona getting accused of cheating on his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth, of owning properties beyond what he can afford, and of rendering decisions favorable to Arroyo.

Aside from the comparative disparity in the enumerated accusations, a political adviser is a squirrel in the jungle compared to such behemoths as a former president and a sitting chief justice.

So why shouldn’t the case of Llamas deserve similar, if not more, public attention than the cases involving Arroyo and Corona? Because while Arroyo and Corona are being seen as corrupt, Llamas belongs to an administration that boldly asserts itself as being the exact opposite.

The Aquino administration came to power on a platform of clean, honest and transparent government. “Walang mahirap kung walang kurap” was the rousing battle cry that embodied its firm commitment to the Filipino people.

But ever since the Llamas flap broke, Malacañang has done nothing but pussy-foot on his case. President Aquino himself said the case was not a priority for him. Apparently, nobody in the administration appreciates the wrong signals the case is sending to the nation.

The Llamas case adds to the rising number of incidents in which Aquino adamantly refused to take action because they happened to involve his classmates, drinking buddies, and shooting partners.

Favoring friends and going after enemies — often by ignoring unfavorable findings by probe bodies he himself created in the case of the former, and then taking shortcuts with the law and due process in the case of the latter — leaves no high moral ground to fight corruption.

Without a high moral ground from which to launch any fight against corruption, any such fight cannot but be considered a sham. It may succeed in locking up enemies but will not budge corruption an inch. In fact, all things considered, the fight is corrupt in itself.