Most ironic headline of the day: the Philippine Star’s Moment of truth for Garci. ABS-CBN Interactive reports congressmen have 3 minutes each to grill Garci.
Alvin Capino says Virgilio Garcillano has embarked on the “peanut butter approach”:
The strategy that Garcillano is apparently taking is the so-called “peanut butter approach.” In coming out with names of politicians who have also called him, he is trying to dispense the guilt hoping that those who might have been caught on the illegal wiretapped tapes talking to him would have less of the culpability.
Of course it does not work that way. The peanut butter approach merely spreads the guilt around and does not clear anybody at all.
Garcillano can only clear President Arroyo of all suspicions if he directly confronts the issue of the Hello Garci tapes. He says that the tapes that the public have been hearing were spliced and had been corrupted. He should explain why this is so. Evading the issue of the wiretapped tapes would not help clear the name of the President nor will any move to implicate other people including leaders of the opposition.
Philippine Commentary is convinced, though, that Garci’s gambit is to hide behind the concept of statements on the tape being sub judice, and thus forbidden, because he’s filed a case before the Supreme Court questioning the use of the tapes as evidence. PCIJ quotes similar views from Ramon Casiple. The Free Press gives it’s usual punchy rundown of the impending testimony.
My Arab News column for this week is Rebuilding the Walls Separating Church From State.
There’s a very interesting interview of Vinay Bhargava, a World Bank expert, on corruption in the region. Jarius Bondoc notes that Filipina news anchorwoman Veronica Pedrosa has joined Al-Jazeera. Carmen Guerrero Nakpil suggests Filipinos may be turning fascist. Greg Macabenta waxes historical about Manila and Acapulco. Ambeth Ocampo quotes a clever student’s email and concludes, “if our heroes had blogs, life would be more complicated for historians.” John Siegenthaler condemns anonymously-written and inaccurate entries in Wikipedia.
Technorati Tags: Blogging, Gloriagate, Hello Garci, law, media, Philippines
i wonder who garci’s advisers are… his style of tagging along other people into the issue makes me sick!
everybody gets a nice, thin coating in the peanut-butter approach. unfortunately, you still leave the chunky part intact.
…guilt is spread around but responsibility of the most culpable stays the same.
everybody gets a nice, thin coating in the peanut-butter approach. unfortunately, you still leave the chunky part intact.
…guilt is spread around but responsibility of the most culpable stays the same.
what’s the chunky part?
i was referring to the local brand of peanut butter wherein the peanut butter slime is bathed in oil on top and practically dry at the bottom.
the bottom portion which you’ll have a hard time spreading thinly on your bread is the chunky part.
…garci’s approach in spreading the guilt around won’t erase the “improprieties†done by the highest official in the land.
Garci’s statements were not made to exonerate the President. Obviously, the media is missing the point. It has nothing to do with spreading the guilt around (media presumes guilt instead of ones innocence, we call bad journalism).
Garci’s statements provide the picture that all politicians (be in the government or so-called oppositions) had equal opportunity and used his services. It is enough for the ordinary Filipino to know that. And that is driving the apathy of the masses.