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Quixotic idea unmasks 'House of Hypocrites'

By Winston A. Marbella

Poor Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano he must be kicking himself with both feet these days. Rejoicing over a new paradigm of transparency as the Senate impeachment court voted to throw out Chief Justice Renato Corona, the good senator from Taguig enjoined all government officials to follow Mr. Corona's example by similarly signing waivers exposing their secret bank accounts to public scrutiny. It seemed too good to be true. Too good. Too true. Senator Cayetano got a rude awakening. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile dismissed the waiver as theatrics. So did Chief impeachment prosecutor Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. But the unkindest cut of all came from the chief apostle of government transparency, President Aquino himself. He left it to his deputy spokesperson, Abigail Valte, to explain. 'Tom, Dick and Harry' President Aquino is not waiving his right under the laws to keep his bank accounts confidential, Valte said, although she confirmed that Mr. Aquino declared during the presidential campaign in 2010 that he would waive his privilege of secrecy under the countrys banking laws if elected President. Lets go back to the context, Valte painstakingly said. It was the accused [Corona] who issued the challenge to every Tom, Dick and Harry who was willing to take on his dare.

Is it fair to put the President, who has not been accused of graft, who has not been accused of dishonesty, in the same category as the man who was just removed from his post?

'New standard'

Valte was responding to reporters' questions raised by Senate Minority Leader Cayetanos call for a new standard of government transparency.

The Chief Justice submitted a waiver to the Senate impeachment court exposing $2.4 million and P80 million in bank deposits that he failed to report in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

I ask the President to instruct his Cabinet to sign the waivers or resign and leave the government, Senator Cayetano said. Lead by following, or get out of the way.

'Not accused'

Cayetano proposed waivers for all executive officials, members of Congress and the judiciary.

You have to remember that this all came about because one man was on the stand, was being accused of something, Valte said. Do we put other people in the same situation even when they are not being accused of hiding anything?

The President and the members of his Cabinet have all declared their assets, Valte said. Their SALNs have been available to the public since they were sworn into office, she said.

'No dollar accounts'

She added that President Aquino had no foreign-currency bank account.

No one is saying that his disclosures in his SALN are incomplete or are inaccurate and the same goes for members of his Cabinet, Valte said. Just like Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said, [Coronas] waiver was for theatrics, she added.

Like the President, Senator Enrile will not open his bank accounts.

'House of Hypocrites'

The House of Representatives is in danger of being dubbed the House of Hypocrites as its leaderswho have been partying for three straight nights after successfully unseating Mr. Coronacontinued to ignore mounting calls to disclose their SALNs and sign waivers to expose

their bank deposits, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

House Secretary General Marilyn Barua Yap, custodian of House records, continued to turn down requests for copies of the SALN of all 284 representatives, particularly those who led the impeachment drive.

None yet, was Yaps answer when asked whether she had obtained the go-signal from Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. to release the SALN of the congressmen.

Belmonte himself has delayed a previous commitment to release the House SALNs. He promised to do that only after the impeachment trial ostensibly to avoid any distractions.

Self-righteous

Iloilo Representative Tupas Jr. declared that he and his colleagues would not dignify the former Chief Justices challenge, which Tupas dismissed as grandstanding.

Kabataan party-list Rep.Raymond Palatino, one of the first House members to release his SALN and signify an intention to sign a bank waiver, said that Tupas and the rest of the majority bloc members should heed the public clamor for full transparency.

This will be a hollow victory if the anticorruption fight ends with Corona.... Otherwise, we will become a house of hypocrites. We will appear to be grandstanding, self-righteous politicians, said Palatino.

Only three dozen lawmakers have revealed their SALNs to the media, including the minority bloc led by Danilo Suarez, who stepped up the pressure on the members of the majority. Less than a dozen, mostly militant party-list members, have agreed to sign a bank waiver to disclose their deposits.