EDITORIAL – Perez must come clean

Since the early days of this administration there have been reports about a senior government official receiving a $2-million bribe from a businessman, with the money deposited in the official’s bank account in Hong Kong. The opposition harped about it when the administration accused Sen. Panfilo Lacson of maintaining bank accounts in the United States. But the charges and countercharges were eventually drowned by the numerous other problems besetting the nation.

Recently the controversy over the so-called "$2-million man" was revived by an administration congressman. Even before Bulacan Rep. Willie Villarama of Aksyon Demokratiko could identify the alleged bribe recipient, only one name kept popping up in the rumor mill: Justice Secretary Hernando Perez. Villarama later identified Perez, who denied the accusation.

Yesterday another piece of the puzzle fell into place. Mark Jimenez, the controversial Manila congressman wanted in the United States for tax evasion and illegal campaign contributions, among others, claimed Perez extorted the $2 million from him after he refused to give damning testimony against deposed President Joseph Estrada. Jimenez has vowed to present evidence about the $2 million he claimed he deposited in Perez’s alleged account in Hong Kong.

Perez and Malacañang said Jimenez’s accusations smacked of desperation and blackmail over his impending arrest and extradition to the United States. There could be some truth to this, although it would be a miracle if the Supreme Court would act any time soon on Jimenez’s appeal regarding the cancellation of his bail. Jimenez’s accusations against Perez should not derail the extradition process.

But the extradition case notwithstanding, the administration can’t sidestep the controversy that has hounded Perez almost from Day One. This administration was installed because people were fed up with corruption. If Jimenez’s account is accurate, there was corruption in the first month of the administration involving one of President Arroyo’s most trusted lieutenants, who happens to head the Department of Justice. One of the bedrocks of public confidence in government is the administration of justice. How can people trust the justice system — and the government — when the secretary of justice himself is accused of wrongdoing?

Jimenez may be nothing but a desperate blackmailer, but Perez must come clean on this. He can start by stopping the laughable probe of the "$2-million man" that he had ordered undertaken by the National Bureau of Investigation, which is under the DOJ. He will have to present his side on the Hong Kong bank account. And he could help the administration by going on leave, even if it means partial victory for Jimenez.