Today is the 85th birth anniversary of our former boss and mentor, Ka Blas Ople. As we join his family and friends as they gather in Ka Blas’ grave at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani in the annual rite of prayers and remembering,  we look back at the fruitful years spent with the former Senate president, Foreign Affairs secretary and longest-serving secretary of Labor and Employment the country ever had.

He was truly a towering figure in the country’s modern history, not only for his intellect but in his ways and practices as he moulded the minds and character of many of the prominent figures of our generation and that millions of Filipinos who have benefited from his life-long advocacies for the rights and welfare of the common man.

He has few equals in his own generation if reckoned by the wisdom, breadth of knowledge, and strength of character that he exuded in life.

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‘ILABAS ANG LAHAT NG SALNs AT ITRs” (OUT WITH ALL SALNs  and ITRs) was the universal and continuing demand of listeners in our regular morning radio show KARAMBOLA over DWIZ 882 after we noted that the prosecutors in  the ongoing impeachment case against Chief Justice Renato Corona and Malacanang have continuously referred to the “grudging” disclosure of his own Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth  and, later, the contrived representations and, yes, asides made by BIR Commissioner on his ITR, as proof of a fatal flaw in the magistrate’s character.

They have creatively referred to unavailing documents and their inability to produce evidence of any guilt or misdeed using the SALN and ITR “route”, as it were, as testament to Corona’s ‘pattern of dishonesty’ in his public life.

WHEW!!! What are these guys drinking???

That his “non-disclosure” early on was not of his own making but was in accordance with an existing Supreme Court order issued last May 1989 yet did not matter to the hypocrites. They just skewered Corona for “waiting” and “hedging” on such a simple matter, daw.

And then, when finally the SALN was disclosed they pounced on its contents, claiming that the same was “incomplete” and “untruthful”. Not content with that, they proceeded in dredging all kinds of possible “dirt” which they could lay their hands on, hoping perhaps that the senator-judges and the public will side with them, ranging from ITRs, real estate documents, and now they hope to subpoena bank documents as well. To no avail at all.

In fact, almost all of the evidence and witnesses they have presented thus far have only bolstered the impression on the public mind that the Articles of Impeachment were hastily constructed and the whole show was railroaded so the administration can skewer Corona via trial by publicity. These guys do not really know when to stop badgering their own witnesses and showing off their fantastic st* & % $ @ * + # and mishandling of their case.

Well, if these guys are really that serious and intent in showing that the SALN and, if P. Noy accedes, the ITRs are the “end all and be all” of the evidence necessary to indict a public official for “unexplained wealth and graft and corruption” and in Corona’s case enough to impeach and convict him for “betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, and other high crimes” as seems to be the drift of the prosecution team and Malacanang, then why not immediately ask everybody starting with the team, P. Noy, and members of the Cabinet and, of course, their pet peeves among the “constitutional officials” to bare all and show the whole world what their SALNs and ITRs look like from the time they assumed public office to the present.

And while they are at it, they might as well include their own real estate holdings, bank deposits, and other relevant submissions to show that they have, as they have prodded Corona, nothing to hide. After all, this is, in their view, the essence of Truth and Accountability, and they should volunteer to be the first right now as proof of their fealty and serve as their badge of honor under this regime.

And while they are at this dredging operation for whatever “dirt” which they may attach to such pieces of information, why don’t they ask one and all, in fact the 1.5-million government employees, including those in the LGUs and other units, to do the same. PAKITAAN NA. WALANG TAGUAN.

That way we really get to the bottom of this operation, cleanse the entire bureaucracy, and end all the innuendoes and speculations which have been thrown all over the place as a result of this divisive operation. DI BA LANG?