The nation was captivated last week by a show business scandal involving actors who became amorous to each other while being in respective relationships.
The supposed smoking gun were the screenshots of conversations between the actors, making it impossible for them to deny their involvement. Woe to the male actor who did not delete the evidence even as he was told to. The screenshots were uploaded by his former girlfriend, who felt it was necessary to tell all and sundry about her betrayal, in the name of moving on.
In the end, both actors felt compelled to address the public. “I’m taking accountability for everything,” the female actor said. Their punishment: harsh moral judgment, indelible shame, or eventual obscurity.
This turn of events provided respite to a people so battered by infighting by their political leaders. This was a week when there was no congressional hearing to act as a source of sound bytes; instead, impeachment complaints against the Vice President, also the former Education Secretary, were filed and received at the Lower House of Congress.
The complaints are anchored on the predominant ground of betrayal of public trust, pertaining to the misuse of confidential funds by the hundreds of millions of pesos. Asked to explain where the money was spent, the VP’s underlings evaded questioning at best, and the VP herself acted haughtily, had meltdowns, cried persecution, and threatened the lives of her adversaries at worst.
All complications would have been avoided had they provided straightforward answers to the commonsensical questions asked by lawmakers during the budget and committee hearings. No frills, no drama.
There are smoking guns as well – specifically, acknowledgment receipts signed by fictitious persons, testimonies by clueless low-level employees carrying out orders from personalities who have their utter loyalty, disallowance notices by the Commission on Audit. Unlike private conversations between two consenting adults, these are official documents and statements made under oath and imbued with public interest. They cannot simply be deleted or disregarded.
As it is, we are perfectly within our moral and legal rights to bring all these to the surface for all Filipinos to know and understand.
Impeachment, with the ultimate end of removing the VP from office, is just one among numerous punishments. After all, this is a political exercise, first and foremost. There are other ways to exact accountability from and punish those who abuse their power. Thus, the gathering of indisputable evidence that would strengthen the case should be paramount, so that it cannot be said that this is mere speculation or political persecution.
Betrayal of trust on the personal level is a grave matter. It is even more serious in the public sphere, where the money, well-being, and welfare of millions of Filipinos are on the line.
This is the juicier, more consequential scandal we must see through its rightful end.