EDITORIAL - Settle this in court

Enemies of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have always considered her husband as her soft underbelly. Hit Jose Miguel Arroyo and you hit his wife. The first scandal to tar this administration linked the First Gentleman to a purported payoff. Subsequent scandals have all implicated the First Gentleman in some way to anomalous transactions.

No conclusive proof has been presented so far and no formal charges have ever been filed against the First Gentleman. The same can be said of the numerous accusations hurled by government investigators and the administration’s political allies against opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who served as Joseph Estrada’s top cop. Lacson, a known aspirant for the presidency in 2004, has made no secret of his suspicion that the man behind what he described as a smear campaign against him is the First Gentleman himself.

It therefore came as no surprise that Lacson, a known aspirant for the presidency in 2004, took the Senate floor the other day to accuse the First Gentleman of money laundering. Lacson appears to have done his homework, presenting bank account numbers, account holders’ names, specific dates, amounts, addresses and even copies of signatures. And that, he warned, was just Chapter 1 of his exposés on "The Incredible Hulk" – his description of Arroyo.

Whether or not President Arroyo is running in 2004, her husband has no choice but to come clean on this one. This can best be done, however, only if a formal complaint is filed in a proper forum. That should rule out the Senate. The charges against both the First Gentleman and Lacson are so serious that their veracity can only be settled conclusively in court.

We all want crooks to be caught and placed behind bars. This can only happen, however, if legal processes are followed. Accusations must go beyond statements to the press by military intelligence officers or privileged speeches made by senators. If accusers think they have a solid case, formal charges must be filed. Anything less than that is merely politicking, black propaganda and a disservice to the nation.