I think the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s editorial cartoon (by Gilbert Daroy) last Sept. 4 was quite misleading. While an image is subject to the interpretation of the person viewing it, one thing is clear in that cartoon: it made a distinction between “whistle-blowers” and “main players.” But the fact is, the whistle-blowers and main players in the NBN-ZTE were all part of a syndicate.

As a Political Science student, I get easily interested in such issues as the NBN-ZTE deal. I would even skip classes just to watch a Senate hearing. And I agree with Sen. Richard Gordon that even Joey de Venecia and Jun Lozada must be charged in court for whatever crime they may have committed.

Analyzing the turn of events, people sympathize with Lozada and De Venecia and somehow have forgotten that they played a role in that anomalous project too. I think there was an underlying message in that Senate investigation, but people failed to discern this message because they were deafened by De Venecia’s rants. While everyone seems to know the mastermind behind the NBN-ZTE rip-off, Gordon did not want to send a message that it’s acceptable to participate in the commission of a crime provided you later expose it.

You do not walk away from a crime just because in the end you decided to get out of the syndicate. I agree with the good senator that not a single person involved in the NBN-ZTE deal was a victim in this case, because it was the Filipino people who were the victims here. Whether or not they revealed anything, the truth remains that they were all part of the crime.

It is unfortunate that there are people who could not seem to keep an open mind, and only know how to criticize even if there’s no report yet. From how I understand it, the Senate is doing the investigation “in aid of legislation,” and therefore, the primary role of the Senate is to plug the loopholes in the country’s current laws. We should not expect the Senate to convict people because it is not a court of justice.

The current situation may not allow the immediate prosecution of everyone involved in this anomaly, but Gordon is right, they will all have their day in court. I hope the senator would come out with a committee report that is firm and fair as he promised. And I also hope that we would all keep an open mind and look at the report in its entirety before making judgments.

—JERICHO CARLO S. POLICARPIO,
1842 Minuyan, Norzagaray, Bulacan