There is a very valid question being asked of Senator Manny Villar, who is now the subject of an ethics complaint in the Senate, that would have scuttled his presidential dreams had this been of an era long gone by.
The question is: “By refusing to appear before the Senate, isn’t Senator Villar showing a very bad example for someone who wants to be the leader of his people? No question could have been more valid than that.
Unfortunately for the question, and fortunately for Villar, the question happens to be asked at a time when the Senate that is trying Villar lacks the moral authority and credibility to try anyone, much less a fellow senator.
Had this Senate been the Senate of such highly-regarded leaders as Ninoy Aquino, Jovito Salonga, Gerry Roxas, Lorenzo Tañada, Jose Diokno, Serging Osmeña, Raul Manglapus, and others of similar moral fiber, then it can rightly be said the death of Villar is imminent.
To be tried by a Senate composed as it is now is a big unforgivable joke and it is only right that Villar refuses to submit to such a rigmarole. To appear before it only legitimizes the circus that has taken over the higher legislative functions of Congress.
The bottomline accusation against Villar is that he allegedly used his influence to enrich himself. Frankly, it is an accusation Villar cannot avoid confronting. But there is no way he can confront it in a Senate that has already made up its mind about his supposed guilt.
Indeed, it is this very same accusation that led to his ouster as Senate president. In other words, this is his second trial over the same accusations. So why should he submit to the same when the outcome cannot be any different.
To submit to the farce is to commit political suicide while handing over the prospect of a presidential win to the other presidential hopefuls who not only make up most of the jury but do not have the delicadeza as well to inhibit themselves from the trial.
The better option then for Villar is to face the accusations against him either in court, if a case is eventually filed against him there, or before the bar of public opinion the highest form of which would be during the May 2010 presidential elections.
Since he has already declared himself in the running for president, Villar should initiate the issue himself, so that he can dictate its course on his own terms. Since he is being made to account for something, then he should account for it during the campaign.
That way, his detractors cannot accuse him of trying to avoid answering the charges. Villar has to answer the charges, but not in the time and manner that his enemies have dictated and set in motion.
So, to the matter of setting a bad example by not submitting to a trial by his peers, Villar can answer that it is setting a far worse example to submit to a sellout to his enemies, a scenario that is untenable for a national leader if ever he gets elected president.
For the next president of the Philippines must be able to face up to greater challenges and pressures in a drastically uncompromising world. The Philippines, known to buckle under the slightest foreign squeeze, needs a leader who decides according to Philippine interests.
Again, in a different time, it would have been unthinkable for a senator to refuse to submit to the authority of his peers. But we no longer live in such a time of great honor and dignity. When hypocrisy rules, a man may be excused for intransigence.