The Senate blue ribbon committee hit pay dirt in its anti-graft and corruption drive with the testimony of retired Col. George Rabusa, former AFP budget officer, on the allegedly “welcome” and “pabaon [sendoff]” gifts for incoming and retiring AFP chiefs of staff.
I hope it will not fritter away this golden opportunity to curb corruption in the military by giving the impression that some of its members are out for vendetta or “pogi points” with the press.
Personalities should not intrude into this noteworthy inquiry or else, its findings would be suspect. Now, I am not questioning the motive of Senate President Pro-tempore Jinggoy Estrada in bringing in Rabusa as witness. Rabusa’s testimony proved damning to the public against former AFP chief, Secretary Angelo Reyes, whose switching of allegiance in January 2001 led to the downfall of then Prez Erap Estrada, Jinggoy’s father. But even if Jinggoy is not out for vendetta, he should have at least referred Rabusa to another senator so there would be no color to Rabusa’s testimony.
I like the attitude of Jinggoy toward fugitive Sen. Ping Lacson much better. Whenever media sought his comments on Ping, Jinggoy would give a guarded comment, and for good reason. When Ping was linked to the murder of publicist Bubby Dacer, he delivered a privileged speech claiming that Erap knew more about the supposed operation against Dacer. This led to the cooling of relations between the Estradas and Ping. It was also for this reason that Jinggoy is almost always hesitant in answering questions about Ping who is still on the lam. He explains that his comments might be held suspect because of his relations with Ping.
Of course, it is not yet too late for Jinggoy to stop coming in strong against Reyes. He, as well as other members of the blue ribbon, can ferret out the truth without subjecting Reyes or other former AFP chiefs of staff to humiliation or ridicule. He or other probers could take the cue from the mode of questioning usually employed by Sen. Joker Arroyo, or Sen. Gringo Honasan or Sen. Kiko Pangilinan. They seldom raise their voices, their language could be cutting even if shorn of venom. And what’s more, they extract the needed information.
Perhaps, asking senators to keep personalities off the “pabaon” scandal might be too much. I note that Secretary Reyes has chosen lawyer Bonifacio Alentajan as his counsel. Well, if both Alentajan and Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago will attend the hearing tomorrow, Thursday, expect all hell to break loose. Senator Miriam is one who can never forget a perceived offense against her and she is still smarting from the disbarment case he had filed against her, citing among other things her mental health. That disbarment case has been thrown out by the High Tribunal but the very mention of Alentajan’s name still sends her temperature and blood pressure soaring.
Going back to the “pabaon” issue, I was struck by the comment of Rabusa in an ANC interview that Mrs. Reyes had asked him not to tell her husband about the amounts given her in her foreign travels “as this would anger him.” What does this say of Angelo Reyes in relation to the giving of perks to his wife?
Singson’s ‘guilty’ plea
The House should not dilly-dally and immediately start an ethics probe against Rep. Ronaldo Singson (Lakas, IS) after he pleaded guilty of drug trafficking before a Hong Kong court. The chamber need not wait for the filing of an ethics case against him, or for a final judgment to be rendered.
I remember the case of former Rep. Nicanor de Guzman Jr. of Nueva Ecija who was almost immediately investigated by the House committee on ethics headed by then Rep. Tim Adasa of Zamboanga del Norte after he was caught bringing in several small-caliber hand guns at the airport. Then Speaker Ramon V. Mitra and Adasa did not wait for formal charges to be filed before the ethics committee. Nor did the wait for court to render final judgment against de Guzman. I believe that the House under the leadership of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte should follow a similar tact to show that it would not tolerate any act that could besmirch its reputation.
Some said that it was a blackeye for our customs personnel that HK customs were the ones who found the cocaine in his possession. Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito Sen” Sotto 3rd does not share this view. He said he got information that our customs officials really knew about this but were hesitant to arrest a congressmen. Instead, they tipped off HK authorities about the illegal drugs, leading to Singson’s arrest, according to Tito Sen.
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