The version of a senatorial candidate's truth

When I was new in the practice of law, I heard of a story of a legal practitioner who happened to be a leading figure of the Boys Scouts of the Philippines. One day, while he was attending a court hearing, the presiding judge designated him to be the de oficio lawyer in one case. The setting then was for arraignment (a stage in the criminal proceedings where the charge is to be read to the accused).

It was made clear to the Boy Scout-cum-lawyer that the accused had a counsel of his choice who happened to be absent. The court did not want to delay the case. To complete the arraignment stage, the accused would just have to say "not guilty" when informed of the indictment and the case set for trial proper at another day. With that objective achieved, the service of the lawyer de oficio, had to be terminated.

After a brief exchange of thoughts between counsel and client, the lawyer came forward and informed the court that he could not proceed with the arraignment. He begged to be discharged because according to him, he could not allow the accused to say not guilty in the light of a privileged information he obtained. He told the court that he could not countenance a falsehood in the "not guilty" plea because, as a Boy Scout, he, the lawyer, could not tell a lie.

I recall this tale in connection with the ongoing coverage of the campaign of our candidates for senate. While the team of the administration candidates was barnstorming in Mindanao, one of the aspirants was caught on television handing out cash prizes during an impromptu lottery. Each time he would give the envelopes carrying his name (supposedly with some cash inside), the emcee would ask the recipient to vote for the donor-candidate.

When interviewed after the raffle draw, he claimed that he had to give cash to the winners or they might not vote for him or words to that effect. His face bore the proud mark of a lavish donor of monetary awards and his body language that of a fornicating peacock.

A day after the event, the senatorial candidate received adverse public reaction. From the influx of harsh comments, the message was clear. His act appeared to be a serious violation of the election laws one sanction of which would be disqualification. Naloko na!

Having realized the dire consequence of his fleeting display of braggadocio, the would-be senator did the next best thing a dishonest person would do - make a complete turn-around of his previous statement. In a subsequent television interview, he denied having given away cash prizes. According to him, all he did was to draw the names of the winners of the lottery.

Believe me, I am gravely offended by his brazenness. This man who is seeking my vote for a very high office can afford to lie thru his teeth. He wants to be entrusted with the very high position of our republic as a distinguished member of the senate and yet he has just demonstrated his utter lack of basic honesty.

Granting that this senatorial candidate from the north was unaware of the election law prohibiting his kind of illegal deed, (which by itself is already a very dangerous proposition), it would have been decent for him to admit such faux pas rather than belie what he admitted before television cameras. Of course, the honorable thing for him to do would have been to withdraw his candidacy and save our country from the possibility of having a liar of a senator.

But, obviously, he does not have any sense of honor. Years ago, he already showed to the Filipino people his utter lack of decency when he boasted to have hand carried bags of money which allegedly were proceeds of corruption! I had to wonder though why, despite his admission against interest, no charges were leveled against him.

With his recent shameless display of falsehood, this candidate for senator does not deserve my trust. I will not relax my guard against the onslaught of his farcical representation. Rather, I will commit to tell the other voters who may come my way never to trust this man ever.

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