‘Let’s make no mistake, Speaker Martin: the people want blood. And I will dare say they deserve it.’
DEAR Speaker Martin:
I’m sure – being the able politician you are – that you are aware that the public at large is salivating for blood. This whole floodwater corruption scandal that amounts to nothing short of plunder is a corruption scandal like no other – not only because of the amounts involved but also because of the lives put at stake.
And whether we like it or not, a trail of the stench from this mess leads our noses to both Houses of Congress, who decide how much of the public’s money is to be spent, and when, and where.
The public hearings being conducted by both the Senate and the House are an eye-opener for millions of our citizens. They’re an eye-opener on how our budget is put together, how projects are born, and how many of them never see the light of day – and yet are in effect paid for by the Filipino people who do not benefit from them.
The daily servings of revelation after revelation are both good and bad for our democracy. Just as they are both good and bad for the House and for yourself as Speaker, the first among equals. Whatever good the House does will be charged to your leadership; at the same time, whatever the public perceives to be abhorrent or disgusting in what the House does or fails to do will be laid at your feet.
This scandal threatens to undo everything that you’ve done. I am praying you won’t let it. But you might ask, what’s to be done?
Think of the House as an institution that you must protect, of the public as the ultimate constituency to whom you must submit, and of your legacy as something that is still to be established by a political career that may be troubled today but is far from over.
Given these, what I think would be best for you is to instruct every member of the House that the hearings being conducted must ferret out the truth, come hell or high water. There will always be doubters – but as a seasoned politico, you know which voices to heed and which to ignore.
The subpoena issued to Rep. Elizaldy Co is a step in the right direction. It reminds me of a favorite saying of one of our UP Law professors: “Let Justice be done though the Heavens fall.” For sure, for everyone involved in this scam-of-scams, Heaven is indeed falling.
You will need to demonstrate your willingness to stand aside, even if and when allies are linked to this mess. Anyway, that is in keeping with your sworn duty to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution as well as the interests of the Filipino people.
I do just have two questions to ask; they’ve been puzzling me for a week now.
First: If Cong. Zaldy Co is the prime mover he is made out to be, why did he only insert ₱13 billion when he could have inserted the bulk of it all? Obviously, he has much to answer for. But taken in context, he looks more like an opportunist than a mastermind.
Second: Why would a congressman want to have a ghost project when he can hit two birds with one stone from a real project – make money on the one hand and have something to show his constituents on the other?
Let’s make no mistake, Speaker Martin: the people want blood. And I will dare say they deserve it. Unless they are satisfied that no wool is being pulled over their eyes, again, then they may decide that they and only they can deliver the justice they now demand.
A big burden of making sure this doesn’t happen rests on your shoulders.
You cannot let them down.
