Cover up?

Atty. Divinagracia, interviewed by Karen Davila, gave insights into the circumstances surrounding the death of Usec Cabral. The public, I presume, did not know this information, and therefore, these were fresh insights into her personal circumstances. These included her modest home in Quezon City, the presence of six boxes of documents that could not be accounted for now, her modest lifestyle with her two children, both with low-paying jobs, and her having stopped three times along Baguio-Kennon Road, undoubtedly choosing a place that suited her purpose on that fateful day.

Atty. Divinagracia could only reveal what her client told her, maybe even withholding some information that would put her client in a bad light. Whatever she said in that interview aired on ANC cannot be used in a court of law because it was privileged communication between a client and a lawyer and is not admissible as evidence. This was a smart move by Usec Cabral's family. It gained propaganda mileage favorable to the Usec.

For a government official who knew a ton about the corruption to sacrifice her life rather than tell the truth and put an end to this raging controversy will backfire, not due to her apparent involvement in the wheeling and dealing, but because of her failure to help solve the corruption problem. She knew a lot but preferred to keep it hidden.

The interview of Cong. Leviste by Jessica Soho was also instructive. While Usec Cabral chose to take her own life and bring a large part of the truth with her, the path that Cong. Leviste goes in the opposite direction. He is helping unearth this treasure trove of files that is very damaging to the integrity and political careers of almost everybody in Congress and many Cabinet Secretaries; and I might say, all the way up to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

The reactions of Ombudsman Boying Remulla are very telling. On the one hand, Sec. Dizon has pointed to the Ombudsman as the agency that will authenticate the files, but Sec. Remulla says the Ombudsman is not in a position to do so. He would prefer that Cong. Leviste goes to his Office to discuss the files.

He wants to investigate the government official who brought the files into the open, as if to teach the Congressman a lesson about whether to reveal or not to reveal official documents. It is an attitude, in my opinion, that contravenes the mandate of his office, which can even investigate offenses submitted to it in the form of anonymous letters.

This action has made me rethink the high marks I gave him as our Ombudsman. The fact that his brother, Sec. Jonvic has announced his interest in running for President in 2028, could be a factor in his mellowing of position on the current efforts to address corruption. Many of the corrupt are leaders in their congressional districts. That is very critical in winning an election for the Presidency. Having them on his side is a decisive plus.

It is obvious that the whole-of-government approach is being applied here by all those who have a say, including Usec. Claire Castro of the Presidential Communications Office, who was among the first to fault Cong. Leviste for exposing the files and to question his motives.

The silence of Sec. Vince Dizon of DPWH is also revealing. We can call it a deafening silence. No matter how we look at it, by his recent actions Sec. Dizon has, in many ways, transformed from an anti-corruption czar to a protector of many of the corrupt. He could be having trouble balancing his inclination to free the DPWH from corruption with the goals of those who appointed him as DPWH Secretary. He could be on the way out for allowing the early distribution of the files during his term at DPWH.

His trust rating must have taken a plunge in the past few weeks, a fall he will find hard to recover from because there are documents and interviews to prove the point. And the public is monitoring his actions.

The cover-up is rearing its ugly head, and Sec Dizon is at the center of this turmoil.

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