The Philippine Online Chronicles

Merceditas Gutierrez is no longer Ombudsman. The road is now clear to march against Mrs. Arroyo.

There is a school of thought that believes that Arroyo actually won this round. An impeachment trial only opens a can of worms for Mrs. Arroyo and her ilk. Questions will naturally be probed, and Arroyo would be tried in the court of public opinion. This school of thought is wrong for a number of reasons. First, it suggests that the road to indict Arroyo is personal. Second, it assumes, Mr. Aquino is as vindictive as Mrs. Arroyo was towards Mr. Estrada. Third, it is cynical that it suggests that the Aquino government isn’t out to change the way government works.

Chiz Escudero made a suggestion that the next Ombudsman shouldn’t be close to President Aquino. That of course is a mistake. For one thing, an Ombudsman more sympathetic to the Administration will unlikely make it difficult to allow access to Statements of Assets and Liabilities, for example.

That said, the President should choose someone who he can work with, and should be on the same page as Mr. Aquino’s campaign promise of transparency, accountability, and integrity. The next ombudsman should be beyond reproach in integrity, and ought to be highly capable, and he comes at a time when his or her primary task is to investigate nine years of Arroyo rule. Of course, he comes in as the Field Marshal to go after not just Mrs. Arroyo and her ilk, but also Aquino’s own troops.

That’s a tall order.

One can argue that there are other instruments at play in going after Mrs. Arroyo and her ilk. For example, tax evasion charges have already been filed against Congressman Mikey Arroyo and his wife. The Bureau of Internal revenue alleges that Mr. Arroyo did not pay taxes, and that his Statement of Assets and Liabilities is anomalous. The congressman and his wife are alleged to own properties in the United States in the million dollar range. Perhaps, a similar methodology could be applied not just to the rest of the Arroyo clan, but to their closest allies.

ZTE-NBN deal

In 2008, John Nery of the Philippine Daily Inquirer wrote, “If we ask for truth and do not get it, if we demand accountability and do not get relief, how do we show our outrage?” Nery wrote those words at the hight of the ZTE-NBN controversy.

What do we remember of the ZTE-NBN deal? It was supposedly a US$329.5 million contract to build a National Broadband Network that would improve the Government’s communications system.

Was bribery involved prior to the cancellation of the project? Were there brokers involved? Did anyone break the law, and if so, would they be charged?

President Arroyo cancelled the project, and questions about it presented before the Supreme Court became moot.

Fertilizer fund scam

It was alleged that former Agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante diverted PHP728 million intended for fertilizer were never released to farmers but instead was allegedly diverted to President Arroyo’s 2004 election campaign.

Sorsogon Provincial Governor Raul Lee was charged in relation to the fertilizer fund scam. He is now asking the Supreme Court to dismiss the criminal case filed against him for “inordinate delay.”

Will the government be defeated by Technicalities?

Le Cirque

One of the impeachment charges against Merceditas Gutierrez was the failure to investigate Arroyo’s alleged million peso dinner at New York City’s Le Cirque restaurant.

Quite obviously, a trial against Merceditas Gutierrez would bring up questions on Arroyo’s alleged lavish dinner. Questions as to why the Ombudsman did not see fit to investigate the allegation.

Finding guilt

There are obviously no guarantees in finding out the truth on Arroyo. And for some, that truth means, “Guilt.” There are so many open questions over the course of Nine years. The Arroyos made few friends, and many enemies.

A taxi driver I took going to the mall several days ago said, he would leap for joy the day the Arroyos go to jail. He blames them for state of the economy. Nine years in power, and little to show for.

The war becomes harder of course. The President’s ratings have fallen just as fast as rising cost of food and oil does. In the realm of political calculus, would this matter down the road when the real battle goes up against Arroyo? Will Arroyo be able to exploit this weakness and drive other tactics against the Administration?

The cynical may argue that in the scale of things, sending Arroyo to jail would be the least of Aquino’s worries. Aquino’s government is more than Arroyo. The reform agenda includes K+!2, health care, and lifting people out of poverty. Establishing laws that would prevent exploiting the budget, of whistleblower’s act, and reproductive health are what makes a nation. Soundbites they do not make of course, and it is soundbites that drive public perception up.

There has to be accountability over the Arroyo years. The choice of Ombudsman would make sure that that accountability happens. Whether that accountability means that Arroyo is guilty, or is proven otherwise is a given. While on the grand scale, to right the wrongs, and set the correct policy is the right, and true path, Aquino in the coming months would have to play a little politics that comes with squandering the euphoria of his victory. The mantra, “It’s the economy, stupid,” holds true, but it would be a nice cherry on top that this nation would show some accountability. And that is still the right way forward.

Photo credit: Blog Watch stock photo