'Smirking' Lao gets his comeuppance; Drilon gets his sweet schadenfreude

THE very little regard that former president Rodrigo Duterte had for the other branches of government, the Constitution, and other vital state institutions during his term was unprecedented in the history of the Philippine presidency. His utter contempt was passed on to those below him: Cabinet members and sub-Cabinet office holders, presidential factotums, and non-office holders who moved in his circle.Former senator Franklin Drilon was painful to watch during the Senate hearings on the Pharmally scandal, which involved the squandering of more than P40 billion in hard-earned taxpayers' money at the height of the coronavirus pandemic by recklessly purchasing overpriced, expired and substandard personal protective equipment and related items. Mr. Drilon, who held three Cabinet posts — labor secretary, justice chief and executive secretary — before becoming a senator, sadly took note of the permanent smirk on the face of one of those summoned to shed light on the scam: Lloyd Christopher Lao, a Budget undersecretary who was in charge of the over P40 billion in purchases of Covid-related gear.To Senate witnesses, this is the tradition: show some respect for the Senate as an institution. But Lao was a totally different witness. A permanent smirk on his face topped his show of arrogance and disrespect for the senators. "You can't touch me," the Smirk was probably conveying to the senators, "do you know where I come from?" Davao, of course.Mr. Drilon, a bar topnotcher and regarded as one of the best lawyers in the country when he was in private practice, was probably asking that question to himself as Mr. Smirk evaded and elided relevant questions. From what woodwork did this smirking creature crawl out from? It was later revealed that Lao had applied for the position of Ombudsman for one of the regions, but his application went nowhere. Did Mr. Drilon feel that Mr. Smirk was a two-bit lawyer in over his head? I don't know. Probably.As Mr. Smirk avoided answering questions, a Cabinet member was belittling the Senate's inquiry on the scam, a prop to Lao. Harry Roque, mounting an impassioned defense of the Pharmally purchases, said these transactions were aboveboard, transparent and urgent. The lies and truthiness spun by Roque in defending the purchases are worth dredging from the news archives now because they are valuable to those learning about the shameless peddling of lies — and official shamelessness.All that arrogance and lie-peddling are all history now.On September 18, something took place that probably made Mr. Drilon get some sweet schadenfreude: Lao was arrested by officers of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Service (CIDG) in — where else? — Davao City, based on a warrant issued by the Sandiganbayan on September 12. The Sandiganbayan has charged Lao with violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for his role in facilitating the Pharmally scam. Former health secretary Francisco Duque III was also charged alongside Lao. The Sandiganbayan said there was entirely no reason Duque would move more than P40 billion from his department to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management, which Lao headed then.Why not plunder? Former senator Richard Gordon, who led the Pharmally inquiry, believes the mind-boggling amount squandered merited a case of plunder.After his arrest, Lao, in his orange CIDG shirt, was booked and processed at the CIDG-Davao detention center. Gone were the smirk, the barong, the swagger and the confidence. The somber Lao, in that oversized shirt and looking nothing but a defeated man, reminded us that, indeed, everything in this world should come to pass. And that the arc of the moral universe may be long but bends toward justice. (OK, I borrowed that line from Martin Luther King Jr.)What about Mr. Roque, the Cabinet member who spun lies about Pharmally to support Lao?The government agencies investigating current and former government officials suspected to have had deep ties with Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) said Roque's "footprints" were all over the POGO operations. The authorities do not believe Mr. Roque's claim that he merely did minor lawyering for the real estate companies that leased land to the raided POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga. His POGO involvement was much deeper and extensive, authorities said, and they are busy firming up the major pieces of evidence against him.Mr. Roque is currently on the run. He snubbed repeated summons to attend a House committee inquiry on his alleged POGO ties. The panel required him to submit certain documents on his alleged POGO involvement and answer its questions in an open hearing.Mr. Roque's refusal to do both pushed the House into ordering his arrest. He "is a fugitive from justice," the committee said.That we will soon see him in an oversized orange CIDG shirt and being booked like a common criminal, like Lao, is not too farfetched. The fully nourished Mr. Roque probably needs an XXL-size shirt.

THE very little regard that former president Rodrigo Duterte had for the other branches of government, the Constitution, and other vital state institutions during his term was unprecedented in the history of the Philippine presidency. His utter contempt was passed on to those below him: Cabinet members and sub-Cabinet office holders, presidential factotums, and non-office holders who moved in his circle. Former senator Franklin Drilon was painful to watch during the Senate hearings on the Pharmally scandal, which involved the squandering of more than P40 billion in hard-earned taxpayers' money at the height of the coronavirus pandemic by recklessly purchasing overpriced, expired and substandard personal protective equipment and related items.

Mr. Drilon, who held three Cabinet posts — labor secretary, justice chief and executive secretary — before becoming a senator, sadly took note of the permanent smirk on the face of one of those summoned to shed light on the scam: Lloyd Christopher Lao, a Budget undersecretary who was in charge of the over P40 billion in purchases of Covid-related gear. To Senate witnesses, this is the tradition: show some respect for the Senate as an institution.

But Lao was a totally different witness. A permanent smirk on his face topped his show of arrogance and disrespect for the senators. "You can't touch me," the Smirk was probably conveying to the senators, "do you know where I come from?" Davao, of course.

Mr. Drilon, a bar topnotcher and regarded as one of the best lawyers in the country when he was in private practice, was probably asking that question to himself as Mr. Smirk evaded and elided relevant questions.

From what woodwork did this smirking creature crawl out from? It was later revealed that Lao had applied for the position of Ombudsman for one of the regions, but his application went nowhere. Did Mr. Drilon feel that Mr.

Smirk was a two-bit lawyer in over his head? I don't know. Probably. As Mr.

Smirk avoided answering questions, a Cabinet member was belittling the Senate's inquiry on the scam, a prop to Lao. Harry Roque, mounting an impassioned defense of the Pharmally purchases, said these transactions were aboveboard, transparent and urgent. The lies and truthiness spun by Roque in defending the purchases are worth dredging from the news archives now because they are valuable to those learning about the shameless peddling of lies — and official shamelessness.

All that arrogance and lie-peddling are all history now. On September 18, something took place that probably made Mr. Drilon get some sweet schadenfreude: Lao was arrested by officers of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Service (CIDG) in — where else? — Davao City, based on a warrant issued by the Sandiganbayan on September 12.

The Sandiganbayan has charged Lao with violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for his role in facilitating the Pharmally scam. Former health secretary Francisco Duque III was also charged alongside Lao. The Sandiganbayan said there was entirely no reason Duque would move more than P40 billion from his department to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management, which Lao headed then.

Why not plunder? Former senator Richard Gordon, who led the Pharmally inquiry, believes the mind-boggling amount squandered merited a case of plunder. After his arrest, Lao, in his orange CIDG shirt, was booked and processed at the CIDG-Davao detention center. Gone were the smirk, the barong, the swagger and the confidence.

The somber Lao, in that oversized shirt and looking nothing but a defeated man, reminded us that, indeed, everything in this world should come to pass. And that the arc of the moral universe may be long but bends toward justice. (OK, I borrowed that line from Martin Luther King Jr.

) What about Mr. Roque, the Cabinet member who spun lies about Pharmally to support Lao? The government agencies investigating current and former government officials suspected to have had deep ties with Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) said Roque's "footprints" were all over the POGO operations. The authorities do not believe Mr.

Roque's claim that he merely did minor lawyering for the real estate companies that leased land to the raided POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga. His POGO involvement was much deeper and extensive, authorities said, and they are busy firming up the major pieces of evidence against him. Mr.

Roque is currently on the run. He snubbed repeated summons to attend a House committee inquiry on his alleged POGO ties. The panel required him to submit certain documents on his alleged POGO involvement and answer its questions in an open hearing.

Mr. Roque's refusal to do both pushed the House into ordering his arrest. He "is a fugitive from justice," the committee said.

That we will soon see him in an oversized orange CIDG shirt and being booked like a common criminal, like Lao, is not too farfetched. The fully nourished Mr. Roque probably needs an XXL-size shirt.

.