It’s going to be a laughter-filled year

The Philippine Daily Inquirer called 2016 annus horribilis — a horrible year, although the high profile public officials provided much comic relief with their laughable utterances. That is why in my last column for the year I wished you all dear readers a laughter-filled 2017.

Well, indications are 2017 will indeed be laughter-filled as in the month of January alone the jesters — the old and the new — in the court of DU30 have already drawn much laughter with their ludicrous pronouncements. The new ones opened the year with statements that elicited from the public a reaction like “What was that?” or “Say again!”

On the very first working day of 2017, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno made this banal statement: “The candidate Duterte is different from President Duterte. You make campaign promises but when you see the data you realize it’s impossible to fulfill.” One didn’t have to study in the prestigious universities Syracuse and Johns Hopkins as Mr. Diokno did to know that.

The comment though reflects on the true character of the highly respected economist. He supported the candidacy of Mr. Duterte for president when he knew all along that what Mr. Duterte was promising during the campaign cannot be fulfilled. It raises the question of what the motive for his support is.

Immediately following was Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial dimwitted remark: “People are now afraid to light firecrackers because of the President. They have this impression that somehow they will get caught or they will be punished.” That observation was no more than an expression of sycophancy for the people had no reason to fear punishment for lighting firecrackers. As Presidential Spokesman Martin Andanar had explained, the President had deferred the signing of an executive order banning firecrackers because there are industries and laborers who would be adversely affected by the ban.

Then came the resident jesters of the Duterte administration.

On Jan. 4, Senate Committee on Justice Chair Richard Gordon said that he will not look into what Matobato says following the latter’s recent allegation that he personally saw President Duterte kill eight people when Duterte was still Davao City mayor. “Well, for me it’s finished, I will not look into it unless he will say something new, he himself discredits his own testimony. The law says you have to prove it, there should be evidence. He had every opportunity,” said Sen. Gordon. He added that he, a lawyer, “would be laughed at if he presented Matobato’s testimony in court.”

He is now laughed at as a lawyer precisely because of his sloppy handling of Matobato’s testimony. First of all it is not true that Matobato had every opportunity to provide evidence. As the Jan. 4 editorial of the Inquirer put it, Sen. Gordon “had abruptly terminated the hearings, in a fit of pique.”

The Inquirer also pointed out that the law also provides guidelines for assessing the credibility of a witness and the worth of his testimony. A person who speaks against his self-interest is more credible than someone who speaks only to protect his own interest; Matobato came forward to claim responsibility for at least 50 kills. He dismissed Matobato’s