Tell all, tell tall?

I’d like to think it’s a positive thing that all sorts of characters are scrambling to “tell all” these days – that there is an atmosphere of openness, a public sentiment of pursuing what is right and just; that wrongdoing is being exposed and wrongdoers are being forced to come out into the open. There should be no illusions, however, that the crooks in our midst – and there are oh so many of them! – have truly seen the light and the error of their ways and have repented and are seeking to make things right. It is, more than anything else, a matter of self-preservation; backed into a corner, they are left with only one card to play – they can tell what and who and how much was stolen in ghost projects, ghost developments, ghost beneficiaries, ghost borrowers.

I wonder though whether the “tell all” is really all – as in everyone, everything, every peso, dollar, yuan, yen, euro, every mansion, sports car, condo, even every Hermes bag and Blahnik and Choo that populate their and their wives’ (and mistresses’) and daughters’ closets. These scams were carried out over years and involve millions upon billions, so it’s not possible that P40 million is all the money their grubby greedy hands took. Is stealing P5 billion and returning P1 billion the equation of justice around here? More than returning the plunder, these crooks – and that is what they are, make no mistake – must be held accountable and punished. Unless and until that is done, justice remains close to meaningless in our society.

I also wonder whether the “tell all” involves some tall tales as well, a slash-and-burn attitude that they might as well take everyone else down with them – friend, foe and bystander alike. Spice up the tale with some big names, play one political faction against another – it’s a showbiz formula that seems to work as well in politics. It’s an overused and much abused term, but in this case “politically motivated” might actually have a part in or may be driving these sordid affairs.

Thus I have to agree with the justice secretary that the names in “The List” have to be validated; but I cannot agree with the statement of some quarters that the list given by the scam mastermind is the most reliable. Over the years this woman has lied, stolen, strutted her plunder, lied and stolen some more and spat in our faces – no, she cannot and should not be trusted to be telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but.

I wish though the two secretaries with lists would be more circumspect about talking to media; they seem to like sound bytes a bit too much, dropping juicy bits here and there and then clamming up, all the more whetting the public’s appetite. The same goes for others who claim to have lists too, as well as those who claim to have inside information on the lists from “reliable sources.” All these characters should put up or shut up, because what they’re doing now is confusing people and obfuscating the truth – which could be what some quarters really intend to do: throw everything out there, not just the kitchen sink but the unrecycled garbage and the contents of the septic tank too, bring out all kinds of lists so that, at the end of the day, the only list that can be trusted is my grocery list.

It has been said that making the list public could erode trust in Congress (you mean they’re still under the dis-illusion that the public trusts them?!) and could destroy the Senate and the House – which, come to think of it, might not be such a bad thing...