Reality check

After a much applauded dramatic start, it looks like the anti-corruption crackdown is sputtering in a reality check, and President Marcos is fumbling for a way to dial down his reformist zeal without losing his credibility (and his relatives).

- ANA MARIE PAMINTUAN

Let's see... there's still a week left for the government to make good on its promise to put big fish in jail before Christmas, in connection with the flood control mess.

No happy Christmas for them, BBM himself vowed, with Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon echoing the same promise. Let's hope it won't turn out to be OPM, oh promise me, in the same league as the “aspiration” for P20-a-kilo rice (not subsidized, but real market price).

Walk-in NBI detainee Sarah Discaya and her husband Curlee (in Senate custody) plus a smattering of public works engineers sacked or “floating” won’t cut it; people are screaming for blood - of lawmakers no less.

The public has been made to expect that among those to be arrested are Benguet Rep. Eric Yap and former senator Bong Revilla. Whether sitting senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva will be included remains to be seen.

What about resigned Ako Bicol party-list congressman Elizaldy Co? He has not made good on his threat to release more supposedly tell-all videos against the ruling clan, and his trail has gone cold, after those reports that he was in Portugal.

Last week rumors spread that Co was already in custody, presumably courtesy of Interpol, and would soon be popping up in Manila. But another speculation is that he will be MIA, missing in action, like the mysterious ex-Marine sergeant Orly Guteza.

After hurling explosive accusations, Guteza, who describes himself as a security consultant to many, may soon be officially classified as a desaparecido.

Meanwhile, even with the nation watching closely, members of the 20th Congress are scrambling to preserve their personal endorsement power over billions in various types of “soft pork” dole-out programs.