FOR Blue Ribbon committee chairman T.J. Guingona to salvage a measure of credibility … the inquiry into the Malampaya Fund scam is necessary. If public and not party interest is to be served, the misuse of the fund generated from government royalties out of the lucrative natural gas project … should have had priority similar to the investigation into the Priority Development Assistance Fund ... anomaly.

…[I]f the Senate really wants to go deep into the root of corrupt practices in government, the investigation should be pursued to its conclusion and not halted midway to selectively condemn chosen personalities. Suspicions abound that the Malampaya Fund’s misuse will involve key personalities of the administration of [President] Noynoy which may reach all the way to the doors of Noynoy at Malacañang, which is the reason for the foot dragging of Guingona in holding a probe on it. In one of the Senate hearings, economic officials of Noynoy admitted that the collections from the Malampaya royalties that reached P130 billion was being used as a general fund and juggled at will. ... — (May 5)

Opinion

Editorial

Reflection time
Updated 25 Jun, 2026

Reflection time

Israel is the biggest source of instability in the Middle East, and it is high time the US ended its blind support to Tel Aviv, if it genuinely wants peace in the region.
Raised temperatures
25 Jun, 2026

Raised temperatures

THE fraught situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir requires immense patience and cool heads. Temperatures are raised on...
Debatable remedy
25 Jun, 2026

Debatable remedy

THE Pakistan Psychiatric Society’s challenge to the Federal Shariat Court’s ruling on attempted suicide deserves...
Pezeshkian’s visit
Updated 24 Jun, 2026

Pezeshkian’s visit

Perhaps a good place to start would be the resumption of work on the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline.
Telecom bill
24 Jun, 2026

Telecom bill

THERE is now no question about it: the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) (Amendment) Bill of 2026 is a...
Updating Islamabad
24 Jun, 2026

Updating Islamabad

ISLAMABAD is growing rapidly. Its planning, however, remains stuck in bureaucratic limbo. Despite years of ...