Truth be told

AT last, the former Speaker has spoken.

Fourth District Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr., the five-time Speaker of the House of Representatives, has finally made good his pledge to disclose “truths” about the extent of corruption in the present administration.

His political enemies, of which there are now many and led by no less than the President herself, predictably dismissed his confessions as nothing but sour-graping and downright self-serving (it does not help any that it comes in time for the launching of his autobiography).

What JDV, a long-time collaborator and defender of President Arroyo before their falling out, must do then to boost his credibility is to state where he actually participated and how he himself benefited from the corrupt system that he is now condemning.

He is not a hero with an unsoiled history. He was the patron of the pork barrel, the money leash that keeps the President in control of Congress. He was a known supporter, an instigator even, of moves to amend the constitution aimed at extending the President’s term beyond 2010. He must own up to all these because only then can he use his past as a strength to his testimony.

Attempts to strip JDV completely of his powers and influence by the President’s allies is strong (even the launching of his biography in the United States has been cancelled by the Philippine diplomatic office there for no clear reason); they are throwing everything at him now, including the kitchen sink. And with the dismissal of the impeachment complaint filed by, among others, his son, Jose de Venecia III, before the House Committee on Justice last week, the veteran politician could very well get cold feet.

But he has spoken and now our people expect more from him. He has shown a preview of his first hand knowledge of how the culture of corruption has ruled this government. He, more than anyone in the Arroyo government, has whetted the people’s appetite for truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Hence, if, indeed, his confession at this late hour of the day was driven by an honest-to-goodness awakening to the need for a new kind of governance and politics in the country, then he must carry on. Only then could his desired legacy as defender of “truth” and justice in governance be fulfilled. Only then could his avowed crusade for a true moral revolution for reforms take root.

Our people look forward to a refreshing image of a new Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr., no longer the traditional politician.