So what’s the truth now?

EVERYMAN

Jumping to his friend’s defense

By Val Abelgas

The brouhaha over an alleged attempt by resigned Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico E. Puno to enter the condominium unit of the late DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo on the very first day the latter went missing after a plane crash couldn’t have come at a worse time for Puno’s shooting buddy and benefactor, President Noynoy Aquino.

Aquino didn’t even have time to savor the good news that his approval rating had soared to plus 67, the highest he has received since he assumed the presidency in 2010. He was in Vladivostok when the news came and was perhaps hoping to bask in the high rating’s glory upon his return.

But news broke that Puno tried to enter Robredo’s condo unit without permission from the family. It was later revealed that Robredo was investigating Puno and some ranking police officials on the planned purchase of assault rifles by the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force that involved two procurements of nearly P178 million and P213 million.

When asked about the condo incident, Aquino was quick to come to the defense of his shooting buddy, saying that it was he who ordered Puno to secure the condo and Robredo’s offices. Aquino, however, did not explain why he or Puno did not ask the permission of Robredo’s wife to enter their private residence.

Aquino was busy discussing with leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Vladivostok, Russia but he obviously was never too busy to come to the aid of a friend. After all, Aquino has shown before that Puno was right when he boasted the President would not touch him. The President spared Puno from outright dismissal and administrative charges recommended by a fact-finding body after the botching by his department of the Luneta hostage-taking incident in July 2010.

Aquino didn’t even bother to investigate Puno when Archbishop Oscar Cruz accused the DILG undersecretary that same year of receiving P5 million monthly payola from jueteng lords. Puno admitted that he met with some emissaries of jueteng lords, but it was not difficult for Aquino to keep his faith on his buddy.

Apparently, Aquino’s advisers were quick to realize that his statement in Vladivostok that he was the one who ordered Puno to secure Robredo’s condo would not sit well with the public, and so Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte immediately clarified the statement, saying that the President had only ordered Puno and the PNP to secure Robredo’s offices and not his condo unit.

That’s the problem when you rush to the defense of a buddy; you tend to make mistakes.

So what’s the truth now?

Aquino also came to the defense of his shooting buddy on the alleged almost P1-B pistol contract, saying that Puno should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise. He must have forgotten that he refused to give the same presumption of innocence on impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona, whom he personally destroyed with yet unproven accusations before, during and after the impeachment trial.

It was not just Aquino who came to the defense of Puno. Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda, Deputy Director General Emelito Sarmiento, chief of the PNP bids and awards committee (BAC), and Deputy Spokesperson Abigail Valte all virtually cleared Puno of any wrongdoing.

Many people smell a stinking cover-up here by no less than the President. Perhaps, Aquino should be reminded that an attempt by then President Richard Nixon to cover up the June 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington D.C. forced Nixon to resign, the first American president to do so, to avoid impeachment. The scandal also led to the imprisonment of 43 people, including top Nixon administration officials.

Of course, we don’t want that to happen President Aquino.

And yet, we also don’t want the Aquino administration’s reform agenda and “daang matuwid” to be derailed by the mistakes of just one person, who just happened to be one of his closest and trusted friends.

Aquino can still turn this fiasco around by ordering a transparent and thorough investigation of the Robredo condo incident, the alleged P1-billion midnight arms deal and other PNP deals, and the jueteng payola allegations against Puno.

There are just so many questions that unless answered truthfully would almost certainly cast doubt on Aquino’s reform agenda and the transparency of his government.

Unfortunately for Aquino, the mess left by his favorite shooting buddy came at a time he was supposed to be enjoying high approval ratings. Worse, it comes just a few months before the mid-term elections where the people are expected to rate his administration true performance by voting for or against his party or coalition’s candidates in the senatorial, congressional and local elections.

Aquino will soon discover that it’s difficult to trust a guy who loves guns. The people might, too.

Mr. Abelgas is a former managing editor of Manila Standard. He is now based in the United States.