JLo vs. Mike and the liar paradox
In philosophy and logic, the liar paradox is a conflicting declaration such as “This statement is false.” Why is this contradictory? Because if “This statement is false” is true, then what it says is correct; but since it claims that it is false, it must be incorrect. On the other hand, if it is false, then what it says is valid; thus, since it says that it is false, it must be true. A statement like this is full of irony, because there is no way to assign a consistent truth value to it.
Shades of the liar paradox come to mind in the perjury case served by former Presidential Chief of Staff Mike Defensor against Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada, the NBN-ZTE whistleblower. In the complaint, the accuser claims that the accused fabricated a story about an alleged P50,000 bribe by Defensor to make Lozada recant his testimony that elements of the PNP attempted to kidnap him. The botched kidnapping was supposedly to intimidate and prevent Lozada from spilling the beans about the latest Arroyo administration high-profile scandal being investigated by the Senate. Defensor vehemently contends that Lozada’s statement is a lie, hence the perjury case.
Those who have followed the developments of the Lozada case know that JLo (as fondly nicknamed by no less than the usual suspect, FG) was arrested and actually jailed since he refused to post bail as a sign of protest. This perjury charge had been previously dismissed by the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court. Defensor appealed the case in the regional court and won a reversal of the decision with an order for a warrant of arrest, to boot.
The latest twist in the case is that MTC Judge Jorge Emmanuel Lorredo has revealed that someone from Malacañang is trying to pressure him to inhibit himself from the case. Judge Lorredo earned the ire of Palace devotees when he wrote in the order that he can subpoena or issue a warrant of arrest against President Arroyo and her husband Mike Arroyo to make them stand as hostile witnesses against Lozada. He further admonished Mike Defensor to withdraw the perjury case. I can only imagine how livid the two Mikes, Big M and Little M, are!
The past eight Arroyo years have established beyond reasonable doubt that it is impossible to assign a consistent truth value to any assertion coming from the Palace, from the head down to the minions. That observation becomes even more manifest when the “truth” in question comes out of the mouth of the former chief of staff, the Little Mike, who is no newbie to controversy, just like the Big Mike. In an almost déjà vu scenario, in 2004, Little Mike was involved in a similar case and played an eerily similar role in the infamous “rescue” of another whistleblower, Udong Mahusay.
Udong, a former staff in the private office of the First Gentleman, was presented by opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson as a witness versus Jose Pidal. Udong implicated Big Mike in alleged money-laundering activities using the alias Jose Pidal. Defensor snatched Udong from a safe house in Tagaytay City where the latter was taken by Lacson’s men after he testified at the Senate.
In his own words, Little Mike narrated, “He (Udong) called me up crying and asking for my help because he felt he was going to be killed. We fetched him by car at his safe house in Tagaytay. But we feared that these people after him would follow us and try to forcibly get him.” Defensor clarified that he intervened in this controversial incident because Udong’s brother happens to be his aide.
Defensor and Udong were picked up at the Philippine National Police Academy in Silang, Cavite where they sought refuge while waiting for the presidential chopper to take them back to Manila. Several months later, Udong’s brother was appointed by Mrs. Arroyo as one of her presidential assistants in the Palace.
Before Mike Defensor became the de facto rescuer/negotiator of whistleblowers, he already had some practice. Remember the four “co-eds” who were arrested by Quezon City police for alleged prostitution and detained for vagrancy in year 2000? One of them had the calling card of then Congressman Defensor and called him on his mobile to intercede. On cue, Little Mike called SPO1 Rebangcos and ordered the release of the four suspected call girls. When Rebangcos refused, Little Mike became reportedly enraged. He personally asked to “fix” the case to the dismay of the flabbergasted policemen. At first, Little Mike was denying that he interceded for the four suspected prostitutes.
Three days later, he owned up to it. Then next day, Defensor invited the four rookies in his office at the House of Representatives and asked them to execute an affidavit admitting to the illegal arrest of the four suspected call-girls outside Padi’s Point.
People’s Tonight quotes him in its Feb. 22, 2000 issue: “Kung ipapabunot ko sa korte at ipa-withdraw ang pleading ng guilty nila, kapag nagkaganoon ay kayo naman ang kakasuhan ko at ipatatanggal sa trabaho. Kahit sa PLEB sisiguraduhin kong pasok kayo sa administrative case. Kapag nagsalita ako at nalaman ni Gen. Lacson at Aglipay, tanggal kayo!” (If I have to pull out and withdraw their guilty plea, I’ll bring a case against you and have you fired! I will make sure that you will have an administrative case even in PLEB. If I speak out and Generals Lacson and Aglipay hear of it, you’re out!)
The cops refused to sign the document and instead sought Gen. Aglipay’s help. In his privilege speech, the Quezon City solon called the arresting cops “kotong” policemen and Aglipay their coddler, prompting the NCR police general to issue a rebuttal. The policemen accused Defensor of coddling the four alleged prostitutes and intervening for their release. Defensor personally knew the suspects and claimed the arrest was illegal.
At that time, he was the youngest Congress-elect, eliciting comments like, “he‘s so young, yet sooo _______.”
As he got older, there were more defining moments for Little Mike. Who can forget the press conference where he presented audio “experts” who claimed that the “Hello Garci” tapes were doctored and therefore inadmissible as evidence against President Arroyo. The Garci tape recorded Arroyo’s conversation with Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, instructing him to make sure her lead over FPJ was convincing. She later apologized for her “lapse of judgment.” Stealing the 2004 elections became the basis for an impeachment attempt in Congress and the worst satisfaction ratings of any president in Philippine history.
Like a true factotum, Little Mike insisted, “The basic issue is the tapes were not authentic but tampered. Because this has to be made known and fully explained to the public to make them understand these technical things on how voices on the tapes can be manipulated,” he went on and on.
When he came under fire from opposition leaders for his bungled attempt to discredit the tapes, Defensor insisted there was nothing illegal in what he did and claimed he paid for the experts’ authentication of the tapes in the US out of his own pocket!
For someone who has committed the most public and documented indiscretions, Little Mike has been rewarded more plum and highly sensitive positions in the Arroyo administration. He was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, Secretary of Dept of Environment and Natural Resources until he landed the post of Chief of Staff. Little Mike became the Little President. Palace insiders claimed that he often joked around, professing to be the President’s boy toy.
In one interview, Little Mike reportedly waxed philosophical when he was confronted by the public’s distaste for him saying, “I will wait for history to judge me if I did right or wrong.” In 2007, history answered his query. Despite formidable Palace support and one of the highest media spends during his senatorial bid (declared P121.58M to Comelec), the Filipino voters firmly rejected “Tol.”
Since his overwhelming defeat, the Palace has consoled Little Mike with more lucrative portfolios. On December 4, 2007 he was quietly nominated to the Petron board of directors and the sequestered UCPB board. In June 2008, he became head of NAIA-3 and on October 9, 2008, he was named acting chairman of the Philippine National Railways. Who says there’s no life after being routed in a senatorial election?
With life treating him so well, why is Little Mike so hell-bent on having Jun Lozada arrested, indicted and convicted? He had a front page picture with his family as he explained his reason to the press. “I’m doing this for my children,” he solemnly said, “I do not want my name to appear in law books that I was a kidnapper.”
This is a textbook case of liar paradox.
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Who do you believe? Contact the author, e-mail mscom@campaignsandgrey.net or ms.comfeedback@gmail.com.
