TO CATCH A FLY
by VMGBambino

For some time now, Philippine society has been up to its neck in an ever- worsening socio-economic quagmire. Sad to say, the Filipino is slowly sinking deeper into the bog as opposing forces in the political arena continue to hurl charges and counter-charges of various anomalies against each other.

Remember Angelo "Ador" Mawanay? He was the government's star witness, together with Mary "Rose Bud" Ong, against Senator Panfilo Lacson for alleged involvement in smuggling, sale of prohibited drugs and kidnapping; and, the amassing millions of dollars in profit that were deposited in several "secret" overseas bank accounts. Subsequently, marathon senate hearings (which translated into trial by publicity) were held but the accusations against Sen. Lacson did not hold water because the evidences presented were deemed insufficient and even downright questionable. The tumultuous affair served more as a public indictment of the government for harassing the political opposition than tarnish the credibility of Sen. Lacson. Consequently, the "incredible" star ultimately lost its glimmer and quietly faded into oblivion.

After a while, at a time when the Filipino people still did not know whom to trust or believe, "Ador" made a shocking comeback. Last April 4, 2003, "Ador" executed a sworn statement and made public his retraction of all and everything he said against Sen. Lacson. It was a complete turnaround that rocked the AFP's intelligence community, the NBI and the very foundations of Malacañang. This time, it was the government's turn to brand "Ador" as a habitual liar and a bogus witness. This time, however, the government's reaction somehow lent more credibility to "Ador" in the eyes of the Filipino people.

This time, the evidence manifests that the First Gentleman, Atty. Jose Miguel Arroyo, instructed "Ador' to manufacture e-mail correspondence that would implicate Sen. Lacson in the illegal drug trade and other criminal activities.

Noteworthy among these e-mail printouts presented by "Ador" are the ones dated November 30, 2002 and December 4, 2002. Both e-mail messages were purportedly written by Sen. Lacson using the account pml714_2004@yahoo.com and sent to mra714_20004@yahoo.com, the supposed e-mail address of Chief Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino. Upon closer scrutiny, one would notice many obvious traces of tampering, that one can readily conclude that the printouts are "cut-and-paste" fabrications. However, what is contained in these e-mail messages may not be mere fabrications, but could now serve as evidence to a crime that has already been committed.

click on image to zoom

click on image to zoom

The November 30, 2002 e-mail contains the message "execute plan asap OPERATION PEARL OF THE ORIENT should be executed in a weeks time" (sic). Meanwhile, the December 4, 2002 message sounded more ominous with the subject: "Execute Target".

Why ominous? Because on December 5, 2002, at 12:45 AM, Superintendent John Campos was gunned down in cold blood at Tita Gem's Bulalohan in Better Living, Parañaque and pronounced "dead on arrival" at the South Superhighway Medical Center at 1:25 AM. Barely two hours after the killing, Mary "Rosebud" Ong called up DZBB and later was in GMA 7's "Unang Balita" charging Sen. Lacson as the mastermind in a previous attempt on her life last October 21, 2002 and the killing of Supt. Campos - allegedly, all part of a sinister plot called "Operation Pearl of the Orient"! She also said that Sen. Lacson had ordered the killing as early as November 29, 2002. Thereafter, Mary "Rosebud" Ong was almost everywhere, in print and broadcast media, with her accusations "Senator Lacson…this" and, "Operation Pearl of the Orient…that".

Wait a minute. How in heavens name could Mary "Rosebud" Ong have known about a plot called "Operation Pearl of the Orient" that was supposedly authored by Sen. Lacson, at that very early time? Even the e-mail date and the events that transpired conveniently coincide with her statements. According to "Rosebud", the order to kill Campos was given as early as Nov. 29, 2002, while the e-mail message to "execute the plan asap" is dated Nov. 30 2002. The e-mail message to "Execute Target" is dated Dec. 4, 2002 and Supt. Campos was murdered in the wee hours of Dec. 5, 2002.

Did Sen. Lacson advertise his sinister plot in the Internet or did he send "Rosebud" an e-mail message? Absurd, don't you think? It is more probable that the people who wanted to implicate Sen. Lacson fed enough information to "Rosebud" and made her panic with foreknowledge of a supposed plot by Sen. Lacson to kill her. The e-mail messages that "Ador" made would then be made to surface as evidence and corroborate the statements of "Rosebud" about the said plot. It is quite ironic that all the recent evidence presented by "Ador" is the same evidence that was not presented when Sen. Lacson was still in the hot seat during the Senate hearings. It wasn't presented, obviously, because Sen. Lacson's accusers either knew all along or later on realized that the evidence they had against Sen, Lacson would not hold up in any court of law. Or maybe, just maybe, they were more afraid that the web of murder and deceit that they were trying to weave might actually catch the proverbial fly.....themselves! Because, if indeed, the First Gentleman, Jose Miguel Arroyo instructed Angelo "Ador" Mawanay to fabricate the e-mail messages, then the blood of Supt. John Campos may also very well be in his hands.

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