Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Editorials: Palace’s blackened image
WHAT may have appeared to political strategists in the Palace as a simple way of anticipating a potential giant-sized headache has instead turned out to be a devastating issue affecting again the public image of the administration of President Arroyo.
The anticipatory move may have been spurred by a fresh opposition attempt to unseat the President.
Earlier, some officials with qualms of conscience confessed to having received envelopes containing money ranging from P200,000 to P500,000 in peso bills (the disparity in the amount was perhaps dependent on one’s closeness to the Palace or one’s political value).
This is not something new though, meaning, the giving of “financial aid” to public officials for a known purpose, with the distribution timed when there is something the Palace would like the recipients to express deep gratitude for.
In the present instance, Malacañang needed help or assistance in dissipating efforts by the political opposition to push again a disruptive impeachment proceeding against the President.
Source of funds
The question of where the money shelled out came from may be a good point to consider.
But that can be justified if the money involved were public funds released for a purpose through legal means.
If the money was from a private source, then that would beg the question on where it came from and why it was given away in the manner that the Palace did, as an after-lunch or dinner gift.
Common practice
The point at issue here, though, is not the ethical norm of conduct involved in the Palace incident.
This is because the giving out of financial assistance by political leaders to political henchmen is a common practice in a democracy.
But it is the legality or illegality of the administrative act that needs public scrutiny and enlightenment.
What was it for?
Blackened image
Indeed, the money controversy has blackened the image of the Palace to the public eye.
Where Malacañang is supposed to be the role model in the on-going campaign for public officials to set a norm of behavior that strives to reach for the highest level of morality, it has instead set back the effort many steps backward.
