Real Political Soap Opera Philippine Style

Maybe some enterprising U.S. TV station could start covering corruption stories in the Philippines. It would take a while to build up public interest in the characters but after while these corruption soap operas might attract more viewers than those stations that cover every smile or frown of Obama and McCain and might even rate up there with UK soap operas. This is from the Tribune.
Maybe the Philippines should have a contest for the best corruption story on one of their big TV stations. By the way Malacanang, the castle, is like the White House in U.S. journalism. Arroyo and her husband have property in the U.S. Some day they may need it if the government changes and corruption charges against them, especially Mike, threaten retirement in the Philippines!

Ping threatens to spill beans on Pidal II
08/14/2008
Opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson is threatening to drop a bombshell on the presidential couple amid reports of a lifestyle check probe on him by the Ombudsman which he insists is Malacañang-initiated.
He said his exposé will prove to be far worse than his exposé on the Jose Pidal case where he pointed the finger at presidential spouse Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo as the brains, adding a privilege speech will be delivered by him if Malacañang does not back off from “harassing” him.
An obviously peeved Lacson yesterday warned Malacañang that he will strike back if Palace minions will continue harassing and intimidating him, the latest form taken being the not-so-discreet lifestyle check being conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman as well as the reported efforts of Malacañang and its loyal generals in reviving the Dacer-Corbito double murder case implicating him.
Earlier, it was claimed by Lacson that former Presidential Security Group chief and top security aide of President Arroyo, now chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp) Brig. Romeo Prestoza, was wooing former police officer Cesar Mancao who is now in Miami, Florida, to be a witness against his former boss in the now defunct Presidential Anti-
Organized Crime Task Force. In exchange for his testimony, Mancao was reportedly offered by Prestoza safety for him and his family in Singapore, along with all their needs to be shouldered by the Arroyo government.
Moncao, in a radio interview last Tuesday, stated that it was the Isafp chief himself who called him to do the dirty on Lacson.
Yesterday, Lacson threatened Malacañang occupants, saying: “When I hit back back, they (the presidential couple) will really get hit,” Lacson stressed, adding that “the last time I remember was in 2001. They hit me with a fishing expedition by (then Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Victor) Corpus. I found out
that everything came from FG (Mr. Arroyo), including the identification of my supposed residence in America and my so-called (secret) bank accounts.
A few weeks back, a former Arroyo ally who testified against Lacson on this secret bank accounts confessed that she was hired by the presidential spouse to fabricate a case of money laundering against Lacson.
Blanquita Pelaez, a convict with an existing arrest warrant for the crime of estafa (fraud), claimed she was shortchanged by Malacañang and double crossed, as she had not been paid the fees that she was hired for the dirty job.
Lacson reminded Malacañang that he can play the same tit for tat game, if it doesn’t ease up on him.
“So I hit back with the Pidal expose. Now that they are starting again the vilification campaign using their minions including some military officers. Maybe if I hit back again, it will be another Pidal style, but with a bigger magnitude.”
He added: “You know, we never sleep (in cases like this). We always obtain information and it is not necessarily clean. So what anomaly they have committed, they should now scramble to cover this early because the moment I go to the Senate floor to deliver my privilege speech, they wouldn’t know what hit them,” Lacson said in an interview.
The senator indicated that he will not be silenced by these efforts to malign him, much more just allow Palace officials continue their tactics to smear his name before the public.
“I won’t take this sitting down though. I will strike back,” he said.
Lacson, however, would not provide even a hint as to the latest scandal he will expose soon.
Indications, as gleaned from his statements, hint at Lacson not delivering his “bombshell” of a Pidal ll if Malacañang drops the lifestyle check on him.
The senator said the moves against him are supposedly connected to the issue of the botched national broadband network (NBN) deal.
“The harassment against me started when I delivered my privilege speech on the NBN-ZTE which resulted in a full Senate investigation, and Malacañang knew that I would not back off because they (the presidential couple) can’t buy my silence.
Angie M. Rosales