Untouchable ousted Ping

I CAN only think of one possible reason behind the sudden resignation of Transportation Secretary Jose de Jesus—the reported impending return of suspended Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Virginia Torres.

For a principled man such as De Jesus, it must be untenable to remain at the post when Torres comes back with the charges raised against her by the Department of Justice still unresolved.

The charges were for dereliction of duty and, possibly, complicity with the group of one Bonifacio Sumbilla who, as reported by media, tried to take over the operations of the LTO’s IT provider, Stradcom Corp., last December.

Despite no less than Justice Secretary Leila de Lima recommending Torres’ leave of absence or suspension, it took a while before President Aquino suspended his self-proclaimed shooting-range buddy and textmate.

Before serving her suspension, Torres had been harping on her alleged closeness to P-Noy and for a while, both Secretary De Lima and Secretary De Jesus were viewed by the public as unable to tangle with Torres.

In other words, Torres has become in the public mind an untouchable, such that her return to the LTO left Secretary De Jesus with no choice but to resign as a matter of principle.

—MARILYN MACAHILIG,
[email protected]