t would be worth reminding the Administration of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo that it was US President Richard Nixon's obstruction of justice that ultimately led to his downfall, over thirty years ago, when the then embattled US President and his minions tried to prevent congressional investigators from getting to the bottom of the Watergate scandal.

Now, that anti-Arroyo forces have finally hit pay dirt with the testimony of Philippine Senate star witness Jun Lozada exposing corruption leading all the way to Malacañang, the Arroyo Administration—like the Nixon Administration before it—is doing all in its power to obfuscate the truth and prevent what really happened from ever being known.

The President and her husband's initial silence on the issue did not give the public the impression that they were trying to stay above the fray, instead their silence caused many to presume that there was worry and confusion inside Malacañang and the battalion of Administration spin doctors were busy working double-time at damage control.

Another wrinkle is Commission on Higher Education, Chairman Romulo Neri who has refused to return to the Senate investigation after dropping the bombshell that forced the resignation of COMELEC Chief Benjamin Abalos: he told the Senators that Abalos offered him a bribe. Rumor has it that Neri has more first-hand knowledge about the "dark side" of this administration and is genuinely concerned that he may be forced to reveal all under oath.

It is indeed a sad indictment on today's public officials, be they from Malacañang, the Batasan, the Senate, even down to the local Barangay, where they can steal with impunity and then lie about it in public, fully expecting that people will swallow those lies "hook, line and sinker."

As Lozada continues his Senate testimony, Malacañang digs itself deeper into a hole as they desperately scramble to parry the blows of truth that they will eventually have to confront. And Filipinos are faced with the sad reality (a reality they have known all along) that their country is mired in corruption—from the very top to the very bottom.