Do you think they’ll ever run out of excuses?

First, Secretary Ronaldo Puno pointed at Speaker Jose de Venecia as the source. Ronnie already apologized for that boo-boo. Next, the League of Provinces of the Philippines, thru Governor Joel Reyes of Palawan, owned the responsibility, saying it came from their “capacity-building” funds. A week later, Congressman Benny Abante of Manila pointed his finger at Deputy Speaker Amelita Villarosa.

In an early television interview regarding the matter, Congresswoman Villarosa gave a hearty laugh when asked why she kept quiet about being the source of the money. You see, it didn’t seem so important to her to tell the public, even though she is a public servant. After being scolded at a party meeting, she began to give more sober interviews.

Now even whistle-blowers Among Ed Panlilio of Pampanga and Joselito Mendoza of Bulacan have been charged with “direct bribery and violating both the code of conduct and ethical standards for public officials and the anti-graft law”, for receiving these “cash gifts”. Other respondents of the case include Gov. Leo Campos of Misamis Occidental, Gov. Emilio Macias of Negros Oriental, Gov. Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar, Representatives Antonio Cuenco, Rachel Arenas, Bienvenido “Benny” Abante, Mauricio Domogan and Tomas Dumpit Jr., Deputy Speaker Ma. Amelita Villarosa, Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, Interior Undersecretary Austere Panadero, and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) Vice President Eddie Plaza.

I find it odd that the President was not included in this complaint, when the alleged bribery happened inside the Malacanang premises last October 11. Anyway, I think this case filed by the Philippine Trial Lawyers Association is a welcome development, as it will force the people in question to testify under oath. No more media propaganda. We’ll see who’s lying.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 at 11:09 pm and is filed under comics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.