When former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante finally appeared before the Senate on Friday, senators thought his two-year detention at an immigration holding cell in the United States had softened him and he would spill the beans on the P728-million fertilizer scam. They had another think coming.
His health restored after relaxing for more than a week in a luxurious suite at St. Luke’s, his hopes buoyed by the apparent promise of protection by his benefactors, and obviously briefed daily by a battery of lawyers, Bolante did what other officials and former officials of the Arroyo administration had always done in congressional hearings – lie!
One cannot exactly blame Bolante for ignoring the truth. He had two years to contemplate on his future in the solitary confines of his holding cell. He must have looked back at the people who dared tell the truth. Many of them are gone in obscurity, many are still suffering, and at least one is gone forever. Look at the Hyatt 10 former Cabinet members, who told the truth about mismanagement and abuses in the Arroyo administration. For all their troubles, they are now back to near obscurity. Look at Rodolfo Lozada Jr., who dared tell the truth about the controversial $329-million NBN-ZTE deal? Very few can even recall his first name, and worse, he and his family continue to live in fear. And look at Gloria Esperat, the Mindanao journalist who first exposed the fertilizer scam. She was shot by hired assassins while having breakfast with her family in her own home!
On the other hand, look at all those who were implicated in the numerous scandals in the Arroyo administration and those who decided to zip their lips. Former Comission on Elections Commissioner Victoriano Garcillano, who was caught with his pants down in the “Hello Garci” tape, remains free and even ran for congressman. Thank God he lost! Former Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos, who was implicated in the NBN-ZTE deal, has not been charged and lives an enviable life playing golf daily. Former NEDA chief Romulo Neri, who spoke a bit and then backtracked on the NBN-ZTE deal, remains in government and enjoying the life of a fattened bureaucrat. Presidential brother-in-law Ignacio Arroyo, who admitted being Jose Pidal to save his brother, presidential husband Mike Arroyo, is now a congressman. And Mike Arroyo himself, who has been implicated in virtually every scandal, has not been charged at all and remains the most powerful private citizen in the country.
And there lies the problem. The Senate can investigate and hold hearings as often as they wish, but nothing will come out of it. Important witnesses will seal their lips and the Senate cannot do much about it. Those who will dare spill the truth can do nothing but hurt the image of the perpetrators of the mess, but what pain will it bring when these corrupt official don’t even seem to care about what the people think of them?
The government officials that they will summon will invoke executive privilege and the senators can’t do anything about it. The Supreme Court has upheld the executive department’s right to executive privilege in a vague decision that left much room for Malacanang to abuse it.
And there lies the bigger problem. After a few more days of this circus called Senate hearings, Bolante will remain free and most probably helped back by his benefactors to lead a normal life and to enjoy the fruits of his “sacrifice.” The whole episode will become just one of those many corruption cases left unresolved, adding another negative aspect to the national consciousness.
With so many corruption scandals left unresolved, and so many corrupt officials left unpunished, the perception that corruption does pay in the Philippines will remain ingrained in the people’s consciousness. The people have come to believe that in their country, the rich and the powerful get away with notoriety and that justice tilts in their favor almost every time. Being a public servant is viewed not as a chance to serve the people, but as an opportunity to dip into the taxpayer’s money and enrich oneself.
It’s almost certain the P728-million fertilizer scam will join the growing list of unresolved corruption cases in the Arroyo administration – the $2-million extortion charge against former Justice Secretary Hernando Perez; the P1.3-billion election computerization deal with MegaPacific to supply the Commission on Elections (Comelec) with 1,991 automated counting machines which the Supreme Court voided because the deal was tainted “with graft and legal infirmities;” the alleged P532.9-million overpricing of the P1.1-billion, 5.1-kilometer President Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard in the Manila Bay reclamation area, which the Ombudsman deemed as overpriced by 250 percent and the bridge by 67 percent;
The P200-million Jose Pidal case, wherein Sen. Panfilo Lacson accused Jose Miguel Arroyo, husband of President Arroyo, of amassing more than P200 million from campaign contributions to Ms Arroyo and putting the money in secret bank accounts, including that of “Jose Pidal”; the $503-million Northrail project, which former Senate President Franklin Drilon described as one of the “colossal corrupt deals” of the Arroyo administration; the $329-million National Broadband Network, wherein Abalos and Mike Arroyo have been identified as among those lobbying for the Chinese firm ZTE and where it was alleged that almost $200 million of the deal were for bribes and kickbacks; the $466-million Cyber Education Project that has been criticized as extravagant and unnecessary, and the still to be probed P3.1-billion immigration project just before the 2004 elections whose funds the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas claims were diverted to the campaign.
Add these to the decades-old corruption cases during the previous administrations, and you can imagine the baggage of unresolved scandals put on the shoulders of the people. Is it any wonder that the country’s proverbial train of economic growth has continued to slow down through the years?