There is a sense that our political sphere will heat up rapidly the next few days. If this were a musical piece, we are approaching a crescendo.
Or the dam could be bursting because political pressure is building up on all sides.
The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte commenced yesterday. There are political forces trying to make this the focal point of pubic attention, pushing the infra scandal to the margins. These political forces will try and manufacture public interest in the trial proceedings through demonstrations. A group of clergymen began the effort to produce a spectacle by performing exorcism on the Senate building – no matter how silly this performance might be.
The Senate Blue Ribbon committee, which has functioned as an escape valve for public anger through managed disclosure, has not been convened after the turbulence that racked the upper chamber. It could have held hearings even through the congressional break – although that would force the senators to confront the explosive claims of Zaldy Co’s former bodyguards.
The ombudsman has filed plunder charges against yet another senator, Rodante Marcoleta, for campaign donations he received. The Iglesia ni Kristo, that led protest actions last week, signaled they will continue political pressure should Marcoleta be arrested.
Last week, too, the ombudsman announced former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan will be taken in as a state witness – specifically to bolster the case against former speaker Martin Romualdez. We have been promised charges will be filed against the President’s cousin soon.
In a related development, the court hearing charges filed against Zaldy Co decided to archive the case until the fugitive is brought back under Philippine jurisdiction. This could take a long while.
Of all the characters involved in the flood control mess, the evidence gathered against Zaldy Co appears most compelling. As chair of the House appropriations committee in the previous years, he directed the flow of public works funds eventually looted by operators at the DPWH. He basically determined the allocations as well as the massive insertions done via the bicameral conference committee.
The 20 or so ex-soldiers who surfaced with claims of large cash deliveries were all formerly employed by Co. The properties recently accumulated by Co – including an impressive collection of aircraft – cannot be explained by income flows from normal businesses.
But Co has fled. He is reported to be either in Portugal or in France, where he is seeking political asylum. A few months ago, he issued videotaped messages addressing the scandal. In those messages, he claims to have been framed. He has since been silent. It is not likely he will make himself available for prosecution in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the ombudsman does not seem content with holding Co as the “master plunderer” in the looting of public works funds that is at the center of this scandal. The concept of a “master plunderer” is a legal doctrine introduced by the Supreme Court in its 2016 ruling acquitting former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from the plunder charges leveled against her.
The ombudsman appears to be building on this precedent. Last April, Assistant Ombudsman Jose Dominic Clavano named Romualdez as the “master plunderer” in the looting of funds intended for flood control projects. He was identified as such because he served as speaker during the years when the massive looting happened. Last week, the Office of the Ombudsman announced they would be including the testimonies of several of the former Co bodyguards to bolster the case being built up against Romualdez.
It is not clear as yet how strong the case against Romualdez has been built up. It, obviously, will not suffice to designate a public official to be the “master plunderer” based solely on the position he formerly held. The “master plunderer” must be shown to have orchestrated, benefitted from or controlled the criminal design.
There is no indication, from the evidence available to date, that the volume of evidence amassed by the ombudsman will meet the office’s own requirement for “reasonable certainty of conviction” as basis for filing a case.
When Clavano designated Romualdez last April as the “master plunderer,” the former speaker issued a video warning of serious political consequences if this trajectory is pursued. That may be a threat he could undertake if charges are indeed filed against him.
The Office of the Ombudsman, for its part, must either substantiate the claim that Romualdez is the “master plunderer” or risk the many other cases linked to the flood control mess losing viability. A decision in this needs to be made soon.
Later this month, President Marcos Jr. will be delivering his State of the Nation Address (SONA). There is no way this speech can ignore the progress – or lack of it – in the investigation of what has been called the biggest corruption scandal in our history. It was in last year’s SONA that Marcos denounced the looting of public works funds.
The public is disappointed no “big fish” has yet been unearthed by all the investigations going on. This disappointment is a major reason Marcos’ approval ratings are pushed to negative territory.
There are surely enough people in the President’s inner circle who would want Romualdez named as the “big fish” in this scandal. This might relieve some pressure on the Chief Executive. But it could also cause a major political explosion.