Moderate the grandstanding

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 palace is calling the Senate investigation into the NBN-ZTE deal “grandstanding” and “political noise.” If the Senate, after all the drama, star witnesses and testimonies, does not come up with something tangible in the form of a committee report, or better yet, new laws that will address the numerous appalling and urgent issues exposed by the inquiry, then Malacañang, in spite of the very serious allegations of complicity in the scandal, may actually be truthful this time around.

The nature of the Senate inquiry into the NBN deal is such that when all is said and done, no individuals will likely be found culpable because the investigation is merely in aid of legislation and while a semblance of the truth may be revealed, much of the testimonies may not even be admissible in a bonafide court of law.

Malacañang may lament the political nature of the Senate investigation, but as long as those institutions that are supposed to be impartial in the investigation and prosecution of corruption charges, specifically the Department of Justice and the office of the Ombudsman, show through their actions, or inaction, that they are protecting certain interests, the Senate has by default become the only credible investigating body in this country. It is an imperfect investigating body, but because the above-mentioned institutions have miserably failed us, this venue, which is prone to politicization and grandstanding in the Senators quest for their versions of the “truth”, has become the de facto court of the people.

If the Senate is to maintain its integrity, our Senators must tread carefully from this point onward. While the investigation cannot be ignored, they must not forget that their primary duty is legislation. Aside from being remiss in their legislative duties, our Senators’ penchant for too much politics and grandstanding, something that has been apparent on what has become the nation’s newest top rating TV show, if not checked will erode the people’s remaining trust and eventually destroy the institution much like the bastardization of the DOJ and the Ombudsman has compromised those institutions to the point that they have become absolutely absurd and inutile.*