EDITORIAL - The complete picture

Socialite Ruby Tuason brought snacks, not kickbacks to the Senate, and she visited several other senators apart from those who have been implicated in the pork barrel scam. This is according to Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, one of three lawmakers accused of pocketing 40 percent kickbacks when they allegedly funneled their pork barrel funds to bogus non-government organizations.

The sweeping statement casts a shadow over everyone in the chamber so it would help if Estrada named names. Tuason used to work for the Estradas so the senator should know enough about her previous dealings with his peers.

If Estrada insists that implicating his colleagues is not in his character, perhaps Tuason herself would like to elaborate on her story. She has claimed she is talking to ease the burden on her conscience. As some of her critics have observed, however, she seems to be holding back on certain details. If Tuason wants to come clean on her role in the misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund, she cannot provide an incomplete picture. As she will be sworn to do in court, she must tell the whole truth.

Half-truths will not do, and they tend to reinforce speculation that she is protecting certain individuals. Estrada, who has maintained his innocence, may also want to provide missing pieces in the PDAF story. By mentioning that Tuason also visited other senators, he probably intended to emphasize that the visits to his office did not involve anomalous activities. But others are taking the statement to mean that others were also involved in wrongdoing.

Estrada and several other lawmakers implicated in the pork barrel scam have decried their trial by publicity. Insinuations of wrongdoing by other senators will not help their cause. More details about Tuason’s activities in the Senate should prove helpful for the defense.