QUESTION: What do you do when you can barely scratch a smooth and pristine surface?

ANSWER: Scrape the bottom.

This is exactly what the morally bankrupt opposition is doing.


It is finding the feeblest fault, honest mistakes, even the most inconsequential slip-ups.

Their dogged determination to find wrong where there is none is pathetic and only serves their desperation to distract public attention away from the historic impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato C. Corona

Since Presidential Political Adviser Ronald Llamas was caught on camera purportedly purchasing pirated DVD in a Quezon City strip mall and the photo splashed on the front page of a daily broadsheet and carried by television news, calls have been made by known critics of the Aquino administration for him to voluntary resign or be dismissed outright by the President.

The Optical Media Board has already categorically stated that Llamas did not violate any law if he purchased pirated DVDs for his own use.

OMB chief Ronnie Ricketts has said it would be quite another thing if one were to buy five or more copies of the same title, which could only mean that you are likely engaged in the business of selling the counterfeit merchandise, which carries stiff penalties.

The issue has been blown out of proportion by those intent on exploiting the slightest infraction or shortcomings of the members of the Cabinet in a desperate bid to demonize no less that President Aquino himself.

The target in this out-and-out demolition job is not only Llamas per se, but Aquino himself, and that’s what’s dangerous about it.

It’s a demolition job because it’s not just the DVD issue that’s being raised, but even the earlier furor over the firearm discovered in Llamas’ official vehicle that figured in an accident late last year. Llamas has already fired the two bodyguards who took the government vehicle on an unauthorized joyride in his absence. Llamas has said the firearm is duly licensed and the Philippine National Police found nothing irregular in the issuance of a license for it. The issue must therefore be put to rest.

It is highly likely that those behind this vilification campaign are those who have lost their political and economic muscle under the previous administration and now want to worm their way back to power by all means necessary, fair or foul. But mostly foul.

Llamas’s position as Presidential Political Adviser makes him a key player in President Aquino’s anti-corruption campaign. And he is likely to make enemies among those who have lost their positions of power and privilege in the previous administration. They are the ones making the most noise about the pirated DVD issue and have been the most vociferous in asking for Llamas’s head.

Llamas should stay put and provide useful advice to the President on various key issues.

P-Noy is right: The government should focus on its priorities, which include economic construction; law and order; the peace process; and conflicting claims in the West Philippine Sea, among many others. And he cannot be distracted by a minor issue that detractors want to blow up to gargantuan proportions.

If Llamas has not violated any law, then the calls for him to resign or be fired should stop. Let him do his job.

At the same time, everyone in government should be reminded to conform to the highest standards of ethical and moral behavior, and to bear in mind that public office is a public trust.

Our message to the opposition: Try again and better luck next time.

That’s the only thing left to do when you play a game of hit and miss.