We salute Col. Victor Corpus for his courage in bringing these threats to national security and development to the attention of our government and citizenry. We believe in his integrity, his dedication to our country, and his concern for the welfare of our people.

We likewise salute the witnesses who have come out of the darkness of criminal life into the light of truth and with the desire to right the wrong they had taken part in. At the risk of their own and their families' lives and future, they chose to return to the path of truth and justice. We support them and stand solidly behind them in the quest for truth and justice.

We are encouraged by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo¹s statement of confidence in Col. Corpus and we support her stand to resist all pressures to relieve the colonel from his position as ISAFP chief, a job he has discharged effectively with only the common good in mind.

We call on all government institutions and agencies to help ferret out the truth in the case being raised against Sen. Panfilo Lacson on account of his alleged involvement in drug-trafficking, kidnapping for ransom, summary executions, smuggling and money-laundering. We call for a fair, impartial and transparent investigation and trial that will arrive at the truth and mete out justice to the victims of these alleged crimes, as well as to Sen. Lacson.

We express our outrage and utter dismay at the conduct of some of the senators in the hearing last Friday, 17 August. The inquisitorial and heavy-handed tactics employed by some of the senators towards the invited witnesses were truly abominable.

We condemn the legally questionable detention of Mr. Angelo "Ador" Mawanay and the humiliating and indecent treatment given him. While his allegations need to be verified and substantiated by material evidence, he is NOT the subject of investigation and does not deserve the harsh treatment he received. Not getting the desired testimony does not give the Senate the right to detain a witness, unless of course the real intention is to inhibit, harass and intimidate future witnesses.

Finally, we call on all citizens to vigilantly monitor the developments in this raging issue. Without delay, Col. Corpus' serious allegations against Sen. Lacson must be investigated and brought to trial before the proper and impartial body or forum.

We call on all, especially the media, to actively ensure that this ongoing controversy is not reduced to a battle of personalities Corpus vs. Lacson, pro-Corpus vs. pro-Lacson. This controversy goes beyond Lacson or Corpus.

The real issue is the serious threat posed by narco-politics and organized crime on our government institutions and our society as a whole.

Let us then not cloud or trivialize this serious threat to the future of our people and country. For the sake of our youth, let us be selfless and faithful to the truth.

FOR GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS WHO WISH TO TO JOIN KATOTOHANAN, PLEASE WAIT FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER THIS WEEKEND FOR SIGN-UP CENTERS IN METRO MANILA. SIGN-UP CENTERS FOR LUZON, VISAYAS, AND MINDANAO WILL BE ANNOUNCED WEEKEND OF 1-2 SEPTEMBER 2001.