Lacson defense of Marcos Jr. so stupid, so sickening

In his privilege speech the other day, Lacson demonstrated his shameless service to Marcos as PR man and pretend-lawyer. He claimed that it was not Marcos who asked then-House appropriations committee chairman Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co and speaker Martin Romualdez to insert the 800 projects worth P100 billion into the budget law, from which he got P25 billion in kickbacks.

Rather, he said, it was then-executive secretary Lucas Bersamin, his grandnephew Adrian Bersamin, Education undersecretary Trygve Olaivar who told — separately or together, Lacson did not explain — Co to insert the projects into the budget.

His source? A very compromised one: Public Works undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, who in Senate hearings had confessed that he was practically at the center of this Marcos scam as well as those that Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials undertook on their own. Lacson even carelessly revealed that Bernardo was his source, and that he was in close touch with him, which raises the possibility that the senator has recruited the undersecretary to draw the charges away from Marcos — for a price, in kind (admission into the witness protection program) or otherwise.

Bernardo, according to Lacson, even pointed to former Public Works secretary Manuel Bonoan as having directed P5 billion per year of the department’s infrastructure projects from 2022 to 2024, through which he got P2.5 billion in kickbacks. This is the first time after so many hearings at the Senate, that this accusation has been raised against Bonoan, and solely by Bernardo disclosing it to Lacson alone.

Bonoan

Lacson claimed that when Bonoan asked Bersamin how the P100 billion in new projects could be inserted into the budget law, the latter answered: “We will take care of it.”

Lacson’s PR crisis tack becomes obvious: Blame DPWH officials for the insertions and kickbacks, draw the fire away from Marcos.

It had to take the young Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian to ask the obvious question: How could the two undersecretaries (Olaivar and Bersamin) or even the executive secretary have convinced Co as well as other members of the “small committee” of the bicameral conference committee that formulated the final budget to accept their word that they were merely relaying Marcos’ orders?

Lacson’s reply reveals either his stupidity or desperate attempt to defend Marcos so as to defy common sense: “Perception,” he replied. “Who would not believe that Bersamin was relaying Marcos’ orders?” he asked rhetorically.

I am amazed how Lacson can claim this. Every crook in this country drops some officials’ names to fleece somebody, whether it’s just a police officer or a mayor. Lacson has got to be living on a different planet if he didn’t’ know this, that he thinks the likes of Co and the rest of the small committee members would believe two undersecretaries could insert projects worth P100 billion, from which kickbacks would be generated. Wouldn’t the immediate response of these officials be to ask Marcos himself, who of course wouldn’t have minded being asked since the amounts were so huge?

Ignorant

Lacson is grossly ignorant of the fact that Marcos had an arm’s-length relationship with Bersamin, and that the latter — like so many executive secretaries before him — actually merely signs the tons of legal documents that have to pass the Office of the President, that he could never have relayed his boss’ orders, and on such a sensitive matter. In fact, Bersamin had to course through channels all his communications with the president on legal issues, especially those that could be controversial. For legal issues, Marcos is said to rely on the deputy executive secretary for legal affairs, Anna Liza Logan, one of first lady Liza Marcos’ recruits into her law firm.

Co’s exposé of Marcos’ corruption through kickbacks from government projects is airtight, complete with photos of the deliveries to Marcos and Romualdez, documents such as the list of projects Marcos wanted inserted into the budget law, and according to him, ledgers — as in to whom, when and how much the kickbacks were delivered. Co had already made some personal fortune before getting into politics. This means he has the hundreds of millions needed to pay for lawyers to make an airtight case against Marcos and Romualdez, hoping perhaps that he would be “rehabilitated” in public opinion, just like Gov. Chavit Singson had been after he triggered the fall of President Estrada in 2012 with these exposés of having given President Estrada P1.5 billion in jueteng kickbacks.

Lacson’s arguments are actually making things worse for Marcos in the public mind. Bersamin, his grandnephew and Education undersecretary Olaivar will of course deny they ever relayed a Marcos order, and will fight back, more likely by helping to further pin down Marcos as the big corruptor.

In that situation, will Lacson come up with another explanation — that it was the ghost of the famed Willy Nepomuceno who gave the orders to Romualdez and Co?

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Lacson defense of Marcos Jr. so stupid, so sickening
Source: Breaking News PH