State of denial

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

Judging from the various statements in response to the controversies by this country's top government officials, the Philippines is fortunate to be a country run by people who can do no wrong.

When UN special rapporteur Philip Alston slammed the Philippine government for its role and inaction with regards to the issue of extrajudicial killings, he was shrugged off as a mere “muchacho” by the Secretary of Justice himself.

When the NBN scandal broke out, and allegations of overpricing, brokering, and bribery started to rain down on prominent government officials, this administration simply cancelled the project when the scrutiny got too intense, and declared that since the anomalous contract had been scrapped, everything was already fine.

In response to reports that cash was being handed out to congressmen and local government officials inside Malacañang Palace , which was confirmed by a priest-turned-governor, all the usual suspects simply denied any involvement, rightly confident that a denial would be enough to spare them from accountability and investigation.

Most recently, when the World Bank announced that it had suspended the granting of loans to this government due to claims of collusion and corruption, our self-righteous government officials were predictably quick to toss the blame back to the World Bank, blaming an “internal row” among its staff and a poor system that is allegedly prone to corruption.

The official stance of this government seems to be deny everything that is negative and then, when the denials cannot be sustained, start a half-baked investigation, aimed not at ferreting out the truth or attaining justice, but simply to appease the short-term memories and outrage of the Filipino people. Until we see the President of this country demand an immediate, impartial, and honest-to-goodness investigation right after the exposé of the numerous allegations of wrongdoing and corruption under her watch, we can't help but see corruption continuing to be a way of Filipino life.*