Members of the Philippine Opposition are getting desperate. They are down to using their last bullet, which is to paint President Rodrigo Duterte as corrupt. Their allies in mainstream media are trying their best to help drive that message. You can see it in their headlines. “Ombudsman probes Duterte family’s wealth” says one of the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s headlines. “AMLC’s bank records on Duterte show P1-B flow of money – Ombudsman” says another from Rappler. It’s quite apparent that they worded the headlines to effect maximum impact on the readers. After all, it has worked against their enemies in the past, so why not try it against Duterte, right?
I’m all for investigation of alleged ill-gotten wealth, but the problem I see in this scenario is, it should have been done before the election. It’s a bit late now that Duterte is PRESIDENT. I consider it a dumb move since he is immune from lawsuit while he is in office anyway. But of course the Opposition would try every trick in the book to change public perception. After all, their motto is “Doesn’t have to be true. Just needs to LOOK like that”.
Yes, members of the Opposition are hell-bent on destroying Duterte’s image even if it means destroying the fabric of Philippine society along with it. It doesn’t matter if they use lies and negative propaganda to bring Duterte down as long as they achieve their goal. That says a lot about the kind of people they are – lacking in principles and vindictive. They think the end justifies the means.
Even before the office of the Ombudsman requested the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to divulge the final report on the Duterte family’s bank transaction records when Mr. Duterte was mayor of Davao City, Senator Antonio Trillanes already had copies of the President’s bank account details. AMLC already issued a statement saying they did not give information to Trillanes. The real question is where did Trillanes get his information? Does he have a contact with the AMLC? If so, whoever that person is breached Duterte’s privacy. It seems Trillanes is using dozens of his hired “consultants”, which could include “small ladies” to get him the goods on his enemies. Did the Deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao Arthur Carandang even ask Trillanes where he got his information?
Some people are baffled as to why people like Trillanes can get away with his appalling behavior. He’s like a brat who throws a tantrum when he doesn’t get his way. He’s even threatened to unseat Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel if the latter doesn’t replace his other nemesis in the senate, Senator Richard Gordon as the Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman. Trillanes thinks he is that influential. Perhaps he’s got the goods on the other senators as well. It could explain why they tolerate his bullying tactics. Trillanes doesn’t even care if he drags along the name of a respected organization like the Red Cross in his effort to damage Gordon’s reputation. Trillanes promised to expose Gordon’s alleged corruption involving his Chairmanship of the humanitarian charity organization.
Trillanes’s empty threats merely expose him as a vile and destructive person. Trillanes doesn’t function as a senator anymore. I don’t think he ever did. He seems to be functioning as some kind of lead investigator. Unfortunately, he’s only investigating his enemies.
His actions do not benefit the public, only his personal interests and that of his allies. Trillanes will eventually fall on his own sword.
The Opposition’s inconsistencies are so blatantly obvious. If these people are after what’s good for the country, they should also clamor for investigation of Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista’s alleged hidden wealth. Trillanes in particular is very quiet about Bautista’s shenanigans. They actually prefer to sweep that issue under the rug because there is a lot at stake if Bautista is proven to have accepted money in exchange for facilitating the alleged electoral fraud in the last Presidential Elections. Current Vice President Leni Robredo could be unseated. They wouldn’t want that. And of course they prefer him to stay on as Chairman of COMELEC since he can still continue to “help” out his allies “win” in the next election.
We can only hope the public has learned from the impeachment trial of the late former Chief Justice Renato Corona. The Liberal Party and their allies in media also used sensationalized headlines in deceiving the public into believing Corona had millions in his bank account. In the end, the charges of ill-gotten wealth were not proven, but Corona was still impeached because the acting senator-judges were also gullible enough to believe the unsubstantiated power-point presentations showing his said millions of bank deposits.
In a recent development, the AMLC actually denied giving the office of the Ombudsman records of Duterte’s bank details. The agency is also baffled as to where Carandang got his information. Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo also warned Carangdang should not have released details while investigation is ongoing or he could face administrative charges:
AMLC added that it is still evaluating the August 17 request made by Carandang which it received on September 6, requesting the body to initiate an investigation on Duterte’s accounts.“We have yet to evaluate the request, and the initiation of an investigation, as well as the release of any report on the subject will depend on such evaluation. Suffice it to state that in the attachment to the Complaint, the alleged debits and credits representing outflows and inflows of funds were added together, thus, the resulting total amounts are wrong and misleading,” AMLC said.
Carandang, who is a relative of a former Malacanang Presidential Spokesman Ricky Carangdang during former BS Aquino’s term, could be “helping” Trillanes bring Duterte down by providing false and malicious information.
In the Opposition’s desperation, they are getting sloppy or sloppier. They probably assume most people want to see Duterte ousted. But like what I always say, if your agenda is to protect the interests of the people, lies and all other bullshit thrown at you will not stick.
No comments:
Post a Comment