MANILA, Philippines – No stench can be concealed for long.
This was the answer of police Superintendent Rafael Santiago, Jr. to the statement of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that his allegation of poll irregularities in 2005 was an “old story.”
“Of course, it’s an old story because it has been done six years ago. But you know, wala namang baho na hindi lumalabas [There’s no stench that doesn’t come out],” Santiago said in a press conference Friday at the Justice Department when asked about Arroyo’s statement.
Arroyo is now represents her district in Pampanga in the House of Representatives.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima weighed in and said that while the claims of Santiago and his men were an old story, “it doesn’t mean that it’s not true.”
“That’s the problem when there is no closure on issues like this…. If there is no closure, it will recur and recur and recur. So this is the right time to come out,” De Lima said.
Santiago and five of his men went to the Justice Department to turn over to De Lima 38 election returns, mostly from Mindanao, which they obtained during a series of break-ins at the House of Representatives between January to February 2005.
They asked for more time to submit sworn affidavits to the DoJ.