Poor Richard Garcia

Sigh.

So what was jueteng witness Richard Garcia's press conference all about, since he claimed, between sobs and profuse apologies to Gloria Arroyo, that he wasn't going to retract his statement and testimony made before the Senate, insisting that everything he bared was the truth?

Two things, or so he claimed. One was that he could no longer stand being used by the opposition politicians to destroy Gloria and bring about political chaos to the nation by linking her and her relatives to jueteng payoffs, which he said he knew nothing about; and two, he refuses to be used by the politicians for him to be tapped as an impeachment witness against Gloria Arroyo.

Not surprisingly, Garcia made a lot of claims. He named at least four senators from the minority, chief among them, Ping Lacson, whom Garcia said forced him to link the Arroyo family members to the illegal racket's payola and saying it was Lacson and his lawyers who prepared his affidavit.

But didn't Garcia also say in that press conference that which he said in the Senate is the truth? So whose story was it, Lacson and his lawyers, or his? How could an affidavit be pre-prepared for a witness by any lawyer if the witness doesn't first disclose the facts?

And doesn't his “exposé” at the press conference, with a staunch Gloria supporter and Lakas-Kampi member beside him, dovetail with the Palace claims of a conspiracy to oust Gloria?

Quite frankly, Garcia and his new handlers gave out too many clues, all pointing to Palace control over his “exposé.” Garcia was much too focused on apologizing over and over again to Gloria and her relatives for “falsely” linking them to jueteng payoffs, absolving them of having engaged in jueteng payola operations and for causing her, the Filipino people, the country more problems, while he echoed the Malacañang line of a conspiracy plot by linking the opposition members to his “forced” testimony.

It was not surprising therefore that Malacañang and its allies praised Garcia, saying his exposé is proof of the conspiracy by the opposition forces to topple Gloria and her government though false testimonies and black propaganda linking her and her family to jueteng payoffs and election fraud.

But Gloria and her allies needed Garcia to also scare off potential witnesses and to ensure that jueteng witnesses presented before the Senate would be of no use before an impeachment mini-trial in the House justice committee.

Garcia's charges that the opposition manipulated him and his testimony were also evidently intended to support the Palace's appeal for the Senate to terminate its hearings, as Garcia made certain that the other two witnesses, Sandra Cam and Boy Mayor, would be portrayed as “tools” of the opposition in the claimed “conspiracy.” The two, apparently, haven't bitten the bait, still standing firm on their testimony.

Malacañang and its allies certainly know, that witness Michaelangelo Zuce's exposé was damaging to Gloria, which explains the appearance of “character' witness, former Masbate Mayor Cherry Abajo, who turned out to be a perjurer in the instance of his claim that the murder case against him was dismissed by the Justice department. And Gloria appears to be deathly afraid of former Isabela Gov. Jun Dy's readiness to testify in a proper forum, and only if invited or summoned.

That Garcia's press conference was also meant to get the Senate to stop its jueteng probe was evident.

Shortly after his exposé, the usual Gloria defenders in the House issued press releases, praising Garcia for coming out with the “truth” and calling on the Senate to halt its hearings, claiming that the impeachment complaint has already been filed before the House justice committee.

So why should Gloria and her allies fear the appearance of more witnesses at the Senate probe? And why should the probe be stopped?

In 2000, the Senate was also into probing the jueteng scandal involving against then sitting President, as alleged by a self-confessed crook, Chavit Singson. The probe was stopped only when the railroaded impeachment complaint against Estrada was submitted to the Senate, for trial. So why should the rules be changed now that Gloria sits in Malacañang?

But it is evident that Gloria is deathly scared of having more witnesses come forward, mainly because she, as well as her loyal allies and operators, know that unlike their allegations against Estrada, which they couldn't substantiate, the witnesses being presented today before the Senate probe are much too credible to be dismissed as charlatans or even as paid witnesses of the opposition.

Unfortunately for Gloria and her loyal aides, they have a proven track record of snatching witnesses, abducting their relatives, intimidating all of them to get them under their control and for them to recant their testimonies, which is their recantations aren't taken seriously by the public.