2010 mud-raking starts

Man at the Market

Jesse E.L. Bacon II

03/16/2009

That the Arroyo administration is actually training all its guns on opposition Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson to prevent him this early from emerging as a serious contender for the presidency speaks a lot about his no-nonsense fight against corruption and his championing for the cause of the country’s poor and downtrodden.

At this point, it has become very apparent that Malacañang has adopted the “anybody but Ping” attitude in regard its preference as to who should replace Mrs. Arroyo upon the expiration of her term in 2010. And clearly, this was the same attitude adopted by Malacañang when the Senate organized and reorganized itself in 2007 and 2008, respectively, when Lacson’s name cropped up as possible head of the blue ribbon committee.

The Palace occupant must have realized that it is too dangerous for her and her cabal if Lacson gets to head the Senate’s blue ribbon committee. In fact, this columnist likes to wonder aloud if Mrs. Arroyo’s indisputably corrupt government would have lasted this long had Lacson been made to chair the blue ribbon committee. We are of the belief that had Lacson been given the reins of that very important Senate committee, the investigations conducted by it must have yielded the truth instead of all the lies spewed by almost all the witnesses that appeared before it.

The spectacle of being unmasked for who they really are, wolves in sheep’s clothing, must be the compelling reason why Malacañang would rather give the chairmanship of the blue ribbon committee to anybody but Lacson. Truth is the nation owes a lot to Lacson for his ability to supply the missing links every time the blue ribbon committee seems to face a blank wall in its investigation.

Inarguably, it was Lacson who gave the nation the whole picture about the Jose Pidal controversy. His contribution in resurfacing the light every time Malacañang lackeys attempt to put it out during the “Hello Garci” scandal investigation could not be denied. His sleuthing efforts to gather incontrovertible evidence and to find witnesses to any Senate investigation into other scandals such as the one on the ZTE-NBN deal, the fertilizer fund scam, the national budget double insertion controversy, among others, is indisputable.

In fact, his incessant pestering against corruption in the highest echelon of government at times earned him the ire even of his colleagues and most especially by Malacañang and its lackeys in the Lower House and among local government officials. His crusade against the unprecedented corruption by the Arroyo administration understandably invited for Lacson all the brickbats and all the propaganda shelling from Malacañang and from those who partook of its corrupt ways to be aimed at him.

No wonder his perceived bid to replace Mrs. Arroyo even if unconfirmed yet is being nipped in the bud by those who are afraid that he’ll use, in the event he becomes President, the awesome powers of the law against those who made a mockery of it since 2001. And every government official in this “most corrupt government in Asia” and “one of the most corrupt in the world” has reason to shiver in fear because they know they will surely have their day in court under a Lacson presidency no matter how mighty they may be at this time.

Lacson should therefore take pride in the fact that it is only his perceived presidential bid that merited Malacañang’s all out attention. That it is only him who is causing so much fear in the hearts of the corrupt in and out of government and thus give them sleepless nights only shows that he is the best person to lead this country out from the mess created by Mrs. Arroyo.

Undeniably, the kind of leader we need if we want this country out of the rot it is now in, courtesy of the corrupt, inept and power-hungry Arroyo administration is someone in the mold of Lacson. What we need is a compassionate yet uncompromising father, a strong-willed leader but one who knows how to listen, a leader who knows how to impose but is also open to contrary suggestions, and a leader who is a visionary.

The nation saw these qualities when Lacson was given the privilege of serving the nation as its top policeman and as an elected senator of the land. But because the Arroyo administration is doing its best to downplay Lacson’s qualities and falsely discredit and accuse him with all sorts of crimes, the people seem confused. When the cloud of doubt shall have been cleared, however, Lacson’s true worth will surely shine.

(Reactions to jelbacon@yahoo.com)

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