Shamelessly corrupt or grossly incompetent?

The column of Solita Monsod on Vice President Jejomar Binay (“No-win situation,” 9/6/14) was dead-on. The Senate blue ribbon subcommittee’s inquiry into the alleged venalities of officials in Makati City when he was the mayor has put the Veep on a sticky wicket. From the evidence so far surfacing (“Building contracts rigged; Ex-Makati official: That’s our practice,” News, 9/5/14), he is now perceived as either shamelessly corrupt himself (if he knew about and profited from the anomalies) or grossly and unpardonably incompetent as an executive officer (if he didn’t have the foggiest idea his officials were ripping off the residents of Makati).

When he ran for vice president, Binay’s campaign battle cry was: “Ganito kami sa Makati, dapat ganito din sa buong bansa (This is how we are in Makati, this is how the whole nation should be),” or something to that effect. Now, he is determined as hell to run for president in 2016. Even if we grant him the benefit of the doubt (i.e., he was totally innocent and clueless about the shenanigans done by his people in broad daylight all those years), are we prepared to put him in charge of a country that is still hobbling and wobbling in desperation from the sheer weight of widespread and unabated corruption? God help us!

—STEPHEN L. MONSANTO, Monsanto Law Office, Loyola Heights, Quezon City [email protected]