By Joe Espiritu
Columnist
Bohol Sunday Post
While the front pages of the national broadsheets feature the ZTE=NBN scandal, tucked in the inner pages is a story about the sympathy given to the President by the League of the Provinces of the Philippines or LPP. Fifty-two governors flocked to the Palace to express their support for the beleaguered President. Not all politicians buy the idea of replacing the President before the end of her term, the provinces least of all.
A scandal is a scandal, no one can deny that. Many governments have fallen because of scandals. Prime Ministers of countries with parliamentary governments resign at the first hint of a scandal. However, in a political system like ours, we cannot just change our leaders short of chasing them out. in the time of the ousted President Joseph Estrada, it was the Lower House, which initiated the ouster move. When the Senate refused to open the second envelop touted as evidence, the refusal enflamed the people's passions that stirred up the mob, which chased Estrada out of the Palace.
This time, the center of the action is in the Senate. A losing bidder for a multimillion telecommunications project intimated that the deal was flawed, what with many influential persons in and out of the government were involved. The Senate initiated an investigation. However, people on both sides forgot to clean up their act. There were clumsy attempts in keeping key witnesses from testifying. While Secretary Romulo Neri was trying to dodge Senate subpoenas, Engineer Rodolfo Lozada Jr. escaped his so-called kidnapers to give himself up to the Senate..
Another ZTE-NBN deal witness had surfaced. This time the whistle blower is Dante Madriaga, another ZTE consultant. Those of legal minds say that although, his allegations may be credible, there is no hard evidence to back up his statements.
No testimony, no matter how logical or how near the truth may be considered since the law operates on technicalities.
In another faux pas, Senator Jamby Madrigal brandished a document purportedly from the then NEDA Director General Romulo Neri to the Chinese Ambassador Li Jinjun regarding the ZTE_NBN deal with "copy for FG" as marginal note. The First Gentleman, namely Mike Arroyo was pointed out as the FG. However, informed sources say that the letters were not only FG but FGI, initials of a NEDA functionary. In her zeal to implicate Mr. Arroyo, the "I" was conveniently overlooked.
Rallies were staged to air the people's dismay. However, the provinces remained quiet. Political analysts would say, the differences in the points of view between the governors and President on one hand and the senators and congressmen on the other is that the first group belong to the executive, while the next two belong to the legislative branches of governments. Since the legislative arm is winning the propaganda war, if we may call it that way, the administrative will have to support each other. It is not the difference in ideologies that caused the split.
The worsening situation, if not solved, may trigger some change, which may be considered disastrous to some. The Constitution had made it difficult to change governments, which are not responsive to present problems.. The change might dilute the powers of all the branches of government. The over centralization of power is showing its bad effects It is not clear how the President and her staff will utilize her provincial support. She cannot count on the sympathy of urban population as they are easily susceptible to political mobilization. The ousted, charged, convicted and pardoned Joseph Estrada found that out, to his sorrow.
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