Tingog.com

The big story as of late is the words coming out of Higher Education Chair Romulo Neri during a December 7 meeting with Jun Lozada, Senator Panfilo Lacson and Senator Jamby Madrigal. The words, according to Lozada, was that Neri said President Arroyo is “Evil”. Neri would later and in many other announcements and statements say that he does not recall or can’t remember himself saying this.

It may just be a matter of words, but this is not the statement we get from a man who actually never said this. The more apt statement would be, “I would never say such a thing” or “I never said anything of that nature”. But he didn’t.

Many lawyers will often recommend their clients say I can’t recall or I don’t remember. The difference of course is that the statement “I don’t recall” is subjective to the clients memory and thus can be a loose charge when being applied as perjury, because the client can merely say “I honestly didn’t remember, but now that you reminded me, I now remember saying these things”.

If Neri honestly is in the side of Gloria, and is willing to stake his career, or maybe even his soul on this statement, the more apt term is of course, “I would never say The President is evil”. If he believes in his commander in chief, then he must make statements that have no room for interpretation.

This gives us a clue as to the “moral authority” that Gloria has on Romulo Neri. The public can sense it. We cannot condone it, but we can interpret the struggle within Neri himself when he makes such a statement. If he can’t remember it, there still leaves room for the possibility that he could have said it.

Neri is the weak link in the defense of The President. And if he can’t get his wording right, he will eventually break. Whether it is too late or not, the man had decisions to make.

Now, if Neri confirms this statement, that is already cause for him to step down or resign, because one cannot serve the pleasure of the President if his own opinion of her is so low. He doesn’t confirm nor deny, only makes a statement of recollection. That my dear readers is a statement in no man’s land.