‘Want GMA convicted? Do the spadework’

You want President Arroyo convicted?

Do the spadework, and if possible, find a whistle-blower, prosecutors of convicted plunderer former President Joseph Estrada advised Arroyo critics.

Take it from the experts, who sent a popular ex-president to prison on a life sentence.

If there is one important thing the enemies of Mrs. Arroyo should learn, it is to stop organizing rallies, stop holding press conferences and avoid the limelight, if they really want her to suffer the same fate as the deposed president.

“They should do their homework. Hindi iyung puro press-con, hindi puro reklamo at rally lang. (Not too much press-con, not too much whining and rallies) They have to do the spadework. That’s what we did here. Even my friends from civil society, that’s what I tell them,” former ombudsman Simeon Marcelo told The STAR.

He stressed that building up a case against anyone, more importantly on a powerful official of the land, is no joke, as they have to “look for and gather evidence, prepare and interview witnesses, draft pleadings and do legal research.”

“We really need those who work, people who are willing to do the hard work. You really need hard work, preparation,” Marcelo adds. “What is needed are partners who will be part of the solution and who do not mind doing concrete, even tedious work.”

Human rights lawyer Arno Sanidad, a private prosecutor in the Estrada plunder case, agreed. “We never thought we would be able to prove the next to impossible. If they are able to come up with the proof, then they should go ahead,” he told The STAR.

Another thing, which his brother Pablito also highlighted, was the importance of a whistle-blower like former Ilocos Sur governor Luis  “Chavit” Singson, Estrada’s buddy who spilled the beans on his alleged jueteng kickbacks and multi-billion-peso ill-gotten wealth.

“They (anti-GMA forces) should get a whistle-blower. If they have no whistle-blower, that’s nothing,” said Arno. “It has to start with somebody who will put his life and limb on the line no matter what. If you don’t have a Chavit, forget it, nothing will happen,” countered Pablito.

Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio and Marcelo, under whose watch the plunder case was mostly tried, paid tribute to the public and private prosecutors who selflessly placed the case above and ahead of their individual careers. 

Marcelo said that this effective collaboration between private and public prosecutors in the battle against graft and corruption should continue at the Sandiganbayan, where cases against public officials are being tried.

“In continuing what has already been initiated, it is a critical necessity to institutionalize the fruitful collaboration between public and private prosecutors to wage an effective war against corruption,” he said.

“The public prosecutors need active partners who would buckle down to work when necessary. The bottom line is this: the problem of graft and corruption is a shared responsibility. The private sector should not abandon the government in its fight against corruption,” he said.