A litmus test

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

The Commission on Election may have hundreds of election-related cases on its hands right now but perhaps none of them could be as ticklish as the one involving no less than the Secretary of Justice himself. Everybody knows by now what a controversy had arisen from the reports that Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, who is a native son of Iloilo, had promised to give a bonus of P10,000 to every barangay captain in that city who could give the administration party, Team Unity a 12-0 victory in the senatorial race.

The report was confirmed when Gonzalez himself admitted as much to the media, to whom he justified his act by saying that he was offering his own money, not that of the government. To stress the point, he also said that he can afford to do it because "Marami akong pera (I have a lot of money)". He also said that it was all right for him to do that because, anyway, he is not a candidate.

Would the Comelec accept that justification? The first reaction from at least two of its commissioners was to hedge questions about the propriety of the offer. One said he could not comment as too many people may be hit. The other said lamely that there were political undertones to the incident.

Answers that only begged for more questions.

Anyway, because of pressure from the public, especially from lawyers who quickly underscored the provisions of the Fair Election Law on the matter, the Comelec chairman has announced that they will look into the case.

If they actually get to doing it, this will be something that will test the mettle of the present members of the commission. This will show and tell the public whether the agency has any sacred cows. It will also prove to the doubting ones that it had not been holding back on cases involving the opposition, that it was not giving special favors by granting all those gun ban exemptions to a popular boxer, or that it had dropped the complaints about Malacañang-backed partylist groups for unconvincing reasons.

The present Comelec body may have hurdled many big problems in the past, but the offer of a P10,000 reward by a Justice Secretary will surely be the litmus test of its objectivity and credibility.*