Crisis of credibility - SKETCHES By ANA MARIE PAMINTUAN

Will you take the word of a bandit against a Cabinet member? Or the word of a confessed gambling lord to the President of the Republic? I hope Malacañang isn’t expecting an honest answer to those questions because it may not like the response. That those questions even have to be asked indicates this administration’s crisis of credibility. It’s hard to tell the heroes from the heels here.

When the peso fell a few cents shy of its all-time low last Tuesday, one of our editors groused that she was getting tired of reading daily about the currency and the stock market hitting an all-time low. She got a break on Wednesday, when the peso slipped to its lowest ever – a historic low.

But even the peso’s worst performance had to compete for the headline with worse news: Presidential Adviser Robert Aventajado got a commission from ransom payments, according to Ghalib "Commander Robot" Andang, as narrated by one of the preachers recovered from Sulu. Then there was estranged drinking buddy Luis "Chavit" Singson, fuming over what he described as an ambush attempt, admitting he was involved in jueteng and claiming he gave millions of pesos in jueteng money to people at Malacañang and San Juan.

So what was the biggest news? Robot’s accusations weren’t really new – Aventajado isn’t derisively called "Aventeporsiyento" by naughty coffee shop habitués for nothing. The winner of the headline, hands down, was Ilocos Sur Governor Singson, who broke the code of omerta in the jueteng world. Anak ng jueteng!

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Having burned his bridges and incurred the ire of the most powerful officials in the land, Singson continues to tool around in the bullet-proof Chevy Suburban he borrowed from his Ilocano relative, Ambassador to Washington Ernesto Maceda.

You can’t blame Singson for being paranoid about his alleged traffic violation. You don’t get pulled over by three traffic prowl cars at around 11 p.m. for running a red light and having a blinker. Why, I never see traffic cops after 9 p.m.!

Now he’s huffing and puffing and threatening to blow the entire house of Joseph Estrada down. Singson’s disclosures are all headed toward the President. Yesterday, President Erap said he wouldn’t stoop to the level of Singson and gambling consultant (only in the Philippines!) Atong Ang, who are brawling over jueteng and its legal version, Bingo-2 Ball. I don’t know how President Erap got so close to the two gentlemen without stooping to their level, but anyway, I’m sure the President knows Singson’s tirades are headed his way.

Singson, who is gearing for the fight of his life, has executed affidavits accusing the President and his relatives of getting millions of pesos not only in jueteng money but also in tobacco support funds from the Ilocos Region. One P130-million payoff was allegedly made on Polk street. The affidavits will be made public just in case Singson meets a fate worse than a traffic citation. Will they be kept hush-hush if Singson is made an offer he can’t refuse? Let’s wait for Monday, when Singson promises to tell all.

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Meanwhile, Malacañang is gathering evidence against Singson. I don’t know if the evidence will be of much use since Singson has admitted involvement in jueteng. Singson can risk the negligible punishments for illegal gambling and smuggling.

The stakes are higher for the President. Singson is threatening to reveal information explosive enough to force President Erap to resign. See, Singson is no naif – he knows presidential impeachment will not prosper in the LAMP-dominated Congress. But I don’t know who will investigate this case. Not the Senate’s clearance section, called the Blue Ribbon Committee. After a probe by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., even Commander Robot will be declared a saint.

President Erap should stop insinuating that Singson is a lunatic, because it will only revive questions about the company the President keeps. It’s well known that Singson was for a long time a member of the so-called Midnight Cabinet, which gives his accusations credibility, even if he’s an alleged gambling and smuggling kingpin.

My eyes are riveted as the manure hits the fan. With such drama, you can almost forget soaring oil prices, the peso’s free fall and the stock market’s collapse. I’ve almost forgotten the Abu Sayyaf.

My biggest nightmare is that come 2004, the nation will be in such dire straits we’ll consider 2000 as the good old days.