One of the greatest paradoxes in life is that we always hurt the ones we love the most, or the ones we used to love the most. We are also hurt by the very same loved ones who used to love us so much. When others charge us of crimes and offenses, they still have to prove their accusations in court, and to do that they need to produce evidence beyond reasonable doubt. But when it is our own wife who exposes us and put us on trial by publicity, showing bankbooks and bank accounts in the hundreds of millions, the people are inclined to believe the words of the wife, no matter how we try to parry the blows.
To many, whatever is the motive of the wife, the truth is undeniable that our honor is besmirched, our credibility blemished, and our career ruined. Public judgment is unforgiving. They do not believe the defenses we put up. No matter how we try to appeal for sobriety for the sake of the innocent children. No matter how we try to shed tears on national television in our vain efforts to gain sympathy. The words of the wives are clear, categorical, and unequivocal. There are no ifs and buts. Indeed, Shakespeare might have been right: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Whether or not there is a third party or a soulmate involved doesn’t matter. Whatever personal conflicts there are, the public won’t care. What matters most is that how a public official could accumulate about a billion while performing official functions and occupying a very sensitive, vital position involving the highest form of public confidence. Why would a public official accept referral fees from a law firm and claim it is a normal thing in the practice of law? How would the canons of legal ethics measure this behavior? Why is there an account in the British Virgin Islands? If the real estate in California allegedly belongs to a sister or the mother, why put these in the name of a high public official?
As for Senator Bong Revilla, his wife and family are behind him. The same for Senator Jinggoy. As for the late chief justice Corona, his wife stood by him until his last breath. Ditto with former vice president Jojo Binay, and former presidents Erap and GMA. Imelda never betrayed Ferdinand Marcos. She is very passionate in her defense of her late husband even if the world condemned him. Lucky for those men because their respective spouses fought for them, defended them from all charges. But the problem of Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista is the most difficult to face because the very person who should be defending him is the one putting him to shame. Perhaps the moral of the story is that if you cannot be truly honest with your wife, how can you be honest to the nation and the people?