What are the standards that we should impose on public officials?
In Malaysia, a female legislator named Elizabeth Wong had to tender her resignation when naked photos of her were circulated on the web. No, she wasn't doing anything lewd or naughty. Apparently, she was just sleeping.However, it appears from news reports that her dastardly boyfriend took advantage of her sweet repose, and took those damning photos.
Now, in conservative Malaysia, it doesn't really make sense for a single woman to be caught alone with a man. So, for the sake of propriety, and even though Ms. Wong was (apparently) not a member of the Islamic faith, she took the honorable way forward, and tendered. (Latest reports have it that Anwar Ibrahim has yet to accept her resignation, and is in fact asking her to reconsider.)
In Japan, Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa just resigned this week. Allegations had surfaced saying he looked a wee bit tipsy after the G-7 Summit in Rome. Television footage had been aired which, reportedly, showed him with slurred speech, looking confused, and a bit drowsy.
While Shoichi-san has explained his behavior away by saying that he was just jet-lagged and had taken cold medicine, the allegations of inappropriate behavior triggered such an uproar that he had no choice but to resign.
Of course, if we turn to the Philippine example, resignation doesn't seem to be in the vocabulary of our officials.
Just this week, our very own Senator Jamby Madrigal got carried away with her distress at the lack of a quorum in the Senate, and clothed with all the powers vested in her as Quorum-Girl, she ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms to arrest the absent minority Senators. Quorum-Girl named these Senators by name, meaning (drumroll please) Pia, Alan and Manny.
Well, the news reports have probably spread this story already, but at the time, Alan Cayetano was reportedly at the hospital tending to his sick mother, while sister Pia Cayetano had merely stepped out from the session hall to grab a bite at her office. When Senator Pia heard the news, she rushed back and confronted Quorum-Girl.
Of course, Senator Pia asked why the members of the minority were being singled out, when there were members of the majority bloc that were also absent.
Quorum-Girl denied that she had singled out Pia and Alan. She said her arrest orders pertained to both majority and minority, and she dared Senator Pia to look at the transcript. Unfortunately, Senator Pia took her up on the dare, and had the records produced.
Quorum-Girl was caught in a bind. The transcript didn't support her. She did only spew out the names of the minority senators. Oh woe, what could she do?
Aha - the best solution. Blame somebody else! Blame the stenographers!
Quorum-Girl insisted that she did call for the arrest of the members of the majority, and while the transcript didn't have it, for sure, it would be found in the tape recording.Unfortunately for her, ABS-CBN had the recording, and the press has it that when it was aired, she definitely did not mention "majority."
So what now? One of the highest officers of the land caught in an, to couch it in the most palatable manner, "untruth."She has not been "completely forthcoming." Maybe her memory of the events simply needed to be "refreshed." But call it how you want it, the fact remains it was one big kafoofle. (Nah, there's no such word. I just invented it so I could put in all the distaste I felt without getting sued for libel.)
Things like this leave a very bad taste in the mouth, much worse than other things I've put in there. Not only does Senator Madrigal demean her office by persisting in the lie, this incident gives us insight as to her intrinsic character.
Where is the requisite strength to stand by her decisions, her actions, and her statements? Where is the desired strength of conviction that we need to see in our leaders? She could have commanded a wee bit more of respect if she had just admitted she had ordered the arrest of the minority, and then defended it with hammer and tongs. But this?
I think Jamby should follow the example of Shoichi, and just do a walkie.