I cannot understand why so many fail to see through the farce the Office of the Ombudsman has foisted on the Filipino people with its indictment of Benjamin Abalos and Romulo Neri. First, there is an impeachment case filed against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and one of the charges is her having sat on high-profile cases involving people identified with the occupants of Malacañang. I suppose the aborted ZTE-NBN deal is one of these cases. The indictment of Abalos and Neri is her way of stealing the thunder, so to speak, from the impeachment case against her.

Second, it is highly probable that Abalos and Neri were forewarned that a case would be filed against them but not to worry. The case to be presented before the Sandiganbayan would be manipulated just like what the Ombudsman did to the case against former Justice Secretary Hernando Perez.

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cannot afford to push these principals into a corner for, surely—like a pair of injured wild boar—they’ll fight back; in the process, they might spill the beans. As a Filipino, I feel insulted by this Ombudsman-produced and -directed zarzuela.

—REY CIOCON,
reyciocon@yahoo.com