EDITORIAL - Political noise

Economic managers are putting on a brave face amid the political turbulence that has swept the country. It’s business as usual, and the impact of the ongoing political “noise” on the economy is “minimal,” according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan..

The magnitude of the impact will depend on how the issues that have surfaced are dealt with by the contending parties. Too many questionable acts and omissions have been dredged up and controversial statements issued. They are like toothpaste; they can no longer be put back into the tube. They cannot be swept under the rug in case political reconciliation occurs, however remote this scenario appears at this point.

Witnesses and resource persons in congressional investigations have confirmed the worst aspects of the bloody crackdown on illegal drugs that was carried out in the previous administration. Funds from illegal sources apparently financed the anti-drug operations including a reward system for killing people tagged as drug suspects. The more suspects killed, the greater the reward – an accusation that has been denied by those implicated led by former president Rodrigo Duterte.

This week the House of Representatives revived the probe of an issue that could implicate Duterte’s

daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, her husband Mans Carpio and her brother, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, in the smuggling of over 602 kilos of shabu valued at P6.4 billion. The drugs were hidden in five metal cylinders that were found during a raid on a warehouse in Valenzuela in May 2017.

The Vice President is herself confronting multiple issues that can put her and several of her aides behind bars on charges of misuse of public funds and, more recently, for threatening to have the President, his wife and his cousin the House speaker assassinated as revenge in case she is murdered.

Meanwhile, the Duterte camp is claiming that the administration is pulling out all the stops so that the Vice President can be replaced with her nemesis, Speaker Martin Romualdez, to position him as President Marcos’ successor in 2028. Former president Duterte may face a sedition charge for openly calling for military intervention against the “fractured governance” of Marcos.

A speedy and evidence-based resolution of the issues, through legal and democratic processes, will help dispel accusations of political persecution, and pave the way for reforms that will prevent a repeat of the abuse of power and mishandling of people’s money. This will reassure the world of stability and the strength of Philippine institutions.

What doesn’t kill the nation should make it strong.