Will there be a lie test?

While watching an interview that featured whistle-blower Jun Lozada (who else) and several other personalities like former Commission on Election chairman Benjamin Abalos, his lawyer, and some whose names I can not recall, one of them, a lawyer, said something that struck me. The lawyer said he was speaking in English because he was an Ilocano and was not fluent in Tagalog. The statement struck a chord, because this is true of so many Filipinos in non-Tagalog speaking provinces of the country.

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Many times, I get turned off when those who are being interviewed, those who are asking questions in hearings, or giving speeches for national audiences, insist on speaking in Tagalog, often using idioms and words not commonly used, which are not understood by those from non-Tagalog regions. In the Senate, for instance, some senators, perhaps wanting to sound nationalistic, proceed with their questioning using flowery Tagalog. They are doing themselves an injustice because they are not fully comprehended by many listeners.

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During the first Senate appearance of Jun Lozada, both interest and tension was so high, one did not want to miss a word. Yet two senators, one of them, I think, was Loren Legarda, smoothly phrased their questions in beautiful Tagalog. I wonder how the foreign reporters who were covering the incident coped with that. Several years ago, an American journalism professor was in the Philippines on a grant from the Fulbright program, and gave some lectures in various universities in the country. He also came to Bacolod , conducted a seminar at the University of St. La Salle , and worked with us at the DAILY STAR for sometime.

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Among the impressions that Professor Philip Mangelsdorf (of the University of Arizona College of Journalism) shared with us was his frustration while reading the newspapers here. He said he admired the local media, but as far as the national dailies were concerned, he often had a hard time reading the reports, particularly when the reporters would quote their subjects in Tagalog. “It's like going on smoothly and bumping into a wall,” he said, “Why don't they make it a point to put in translations?” Alas, we confessed, we also encounter the same problems ourselves. I guess this is because of the “imperial Manila ” syndrome, Manilans believe everybody speaks like them, or should understand them.

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But there was something about that interview yesterday, the replay of which I also watched last night. There was only Lozada on one frame, and so many others disputing him, some of them actually displaying their irritation, like General Avelino Razon who even noted that Lozada, who was wearing a T-shirt, was making a play for sympathy. Another lawyer haughtily said that his father taught him to be properly attired when facing the public. The program host had to explain that there was no dress code set, but the irked general seemed unconvinced. He was the one who said that they should not have given Lozada “protection,” since he landed in the Senate anyway. Was he admitting to obstruction of justice?

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But the most interesting part was when a listener sent a text message suggesting that both Lozada and Abalos subject themselves to lie detector tests. Questioned by the host, Korina, Lozada unhesitatingly agreed, while Abalos appeared as if he were hedging, repeating only that Lozada had already said that he was not the one who talked with the Chinese. To the question of the lie-detector test, he neither said no or yes. Anyway, as the program host pointed out, the results would not hold as evidence in court. But, my, it would have been very interesting to see. Abalos also kept saying “Thank you” to Lozada and the latter said he did not know why, but said “You are welcome,” anyway.

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Today, the Ombudsman is supposed to start her own investigation into the NBN-ZTE affair, and has summoned big names like first gentleman Mike Arroyo, former Comelec chairman Abalos, former Speaker Jose de Venecia, and many others in the NBN-ZTE cast. But many people believe Madame Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, should inhibit herself this time. Will she? The doubters point out that she is quite close to the President and her husband, who was her classmate in Law school. Also, she was connected with Malacañang before the President appointed her to the Ombudsman's office.

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This will be a very difficult case for Gutierrez who could find herself in a position where she would be damned if she does, and damned if she doesn't. If she finds them guilty, the talk would be that she was forced to, lest she losses credibility completely. If she acquits them, we already know what people will say. Well, that's her call. By the way, the hairdo Ombudswoman Gutierrez is sporting now makes her look very attractive and sexy, dispelling the old expression about looking “as sober as a judge.”*

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