Peddling such unfair reports does not serve the public interest. It could not be viewed as anything else except as part of an ongoing destabilization campaign against the government. It is obvious that linking the First Gentleman and the First Son to jueteng is indirectly aimed at the President. That is why it is no surprise that opposition drumbeaters are rushing to the conclusion that the socalled expose’ is dangerous to the government.
Juetengate is a very emotionally appealing issue. It is juetengate that caused the downfall of the Estrada administration. In a sense, it was juetengate that paved the way for the ascendancy to the presidency of the incumbent. Ergo, if the incumbent or her closest relatives are also guilty of juetengate, they should also be booted out of power as soon as possible.
It may be conceded that those who are out to make the life of the incumbent administration miserable have, to a certain extent, succeeded. Times are hard. Life is difficult for most Filipinos. The public approval rating of the President is low. People will tend to believe in everything that is thrown at the administration.
The problem is that it is not only the administration that suffers in this situation. Whether we like it or not, the economy suffers, too. Proof is the call of the business community to stop all these mudslinging. Businessmen know whereof they speak. They are the engines of the economy.
The response of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to this latest black propaganda campaign against her family is nothing less than commendable. She has ordered an all-out war against jueteng and full dress investigation on the accusations against her husband and her son "no matter who gets hurt."
It is now up to the law enforcement agencies of the government to honor the wishes of the President. The presidential order will not be worth the paper that it is written on, if the police fails to deliver. When this happens, the President is left without any other recourse but to chop the heads off the highest law enforcement officials of the land. Its their heads or hers.
It is nice to note this early, though, that the brouhaha against jueteng seems to have worked. Even the most vociferous of anti-jueteng crusaders like LingayenDagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz has publicly admitted that the illegal numbers game is beginning to die down in places where they used to be rampant.
But it must be also succinctly pointed out that the problem of the proliferation of jueteng should not be laid at the doorstep of Malacañang. It is common knowledge that the proliferation of jueteng is more a local government concern than that of the national government. I insist that no illegal activities will thrive in any locality if local officials are serious against them. It is a known fact that the operation of jueteng in a province is between the provincial governor and the provincial police commander.
It is in this sense that the jueteng phenomenon should be carefully analyzed. Is it a political problem? If it is, then it is the responsibility of our political leaders. Or is it a moral problem? If it is, then it is the responsibility of our moral leaders. Why has the church failed to dissuade its faithful from jueteng? Has it lost moral ascendancy over the faithful because of its credibility problems?
Jueteng is surely a law enforcement problem. The police has no escaping that. The point is, if jueteng transcends the political and the moral, then both our political and moral leaders should work together in fighting it. Fingerpointing is out of the question.
By the way, the First Gentleman has strongly denied any involvement in jueteng. In a recent get together with top media executives (long before his name was publicly dragged into the scandal), the First Gentleman said, and I quote, "Guys, look at me straight in the eye. I am not involved in jueteng. I am not so stupid as to get into the very same scandal that brought the previous administration down."
The burden of proof lies on the accuser. Not in the accused. The accusers of the First Gentleman and the First Son should come out in the open and prove their allegations. Otherwise, Mike and Mikey should be presumed innocent.
