Small lady

For goodness sake, can’t we give Rey Umali the benefit of the doubt?

Umali stands by his story that a “small lady” handed him an envelope containing now questioned documents purportedly concerning the Chief Justice’s bank accounts. He did not ask about the contents of the envelope handed him and did not ask who the lady was. In fact, the event was so inconsequential Umali cannot now exactly recall if the envelope was handed him in the session hall, along the Senate corridors or just as he boarded his car when he left the trial prematurely to attend a meeting.

The event was so inconsequential, to Umali at least, that he did not even look at the contents of the envelope until after his meeting at the DPWH. Depending on traffic conditions, it must have taken him between 20 to 40 minutes to get from the Senate to the DPWH. He must have been so preoccupied with public works projects for his constituents he could not spare two seconds to peep into the envelope.

Given Umali’s size and bulk, most ladies he runs into must appear “small.” That enlarges the universe of possible suspects to include most Filipino women. It is therefore difficult for him to recall anything more peculiar about the “small lady” who handed him the now controversial envelope: when he looks down, sees only the tops of heads.

A detailed examination of CCTV records for that fateful day was done by the Senate security personnel. The records establish the exact minute Umali entered Senate premises to the exact minute he leaves. That was, happily, a short day for Umali. He was in the Senate building for a little more than two hours.

The video records show no instance when a lady approached the congressman to hand him an envelope. He did not seem to be in a particular hurry that day, taking time to grant interviews along the corridors, surrounded by a bevy of ladies who might fall into the category of “small.” None of the ladies, whether large or small, and for that matter none of the men hand Umali anything.

 The comfort room, where (mercifully) there is no CCTV coverage, is a possibility. The men’s room, however, is not normally frequented by the ladies, big or small. That blind spot will have to be discounted — at least until all other possibilities are exhausted. But if Umali encounters a small lady in the men’s room, wouldn’t he find that rather odd and therefore remember the incident more clearly?

The only other CCTV blind spot is the stairwell Umali took from the session hall on the second floor to the Senate entrance where he boards his car. That was a short flight of stairs and the CCTV picks up the congressman again at the lobby with no indication he tarried too long on the stairs despite being overweight.

 Might the lady not only be “small” but also clairvoyant? She guessed not only the exact time Umali leaves the session hall prematurely but also that he would take the stairs instead of the elevator. Of course, considering Umali’s not-too-obvious athleticism, it might have been easy to guess he would take the stairs. Taking the stairs is better for the heart.

However, did the small lady lurk in the stairwell for some amount of time? Considering the foot traffic on a busy day, someone might have noticed the lady tarrying too long in the oxygen-deficient stairwell and warned her about the health hazard of doing so.

Was she stalking Umali in particular or was she ready to hand the evidence to any prosecutor, regardless of bulk? Why didn’t she hand it over to Niel Tupas, the lead prosecutor, who is more recognizable because of the sheer amount of television face-time he enjoys from all the scolding he gets from the impeachment court? Why didn’t she hand over the envelope to the female member of the prosecution panel in the CCTV-free ladies room?

 I might understand why she would not want to hand it over to Tupas. The diminutive congressman will face her at eye level and will probably have better recall of the encounter than Umali. I have no viable theory about why not the lady prosecutor in the anonymity of the ladies’ room.

Umali, if he recovers from apparent amnesia concerning details of this encounter, might also be able to tell us why he became the Chosen One to receive the envelope — and why, for that matter, he received the envelope just at the moment the prosecution panel needed something to append to their request for a subpoena. Remember that the Senate hesitated about the subpoena unless given exact details because of existing laws covering bank deposits.

Those details are important. There is a violation of bank secrecy laws committed here. That envelope precipitated a chain of events that nearly caused a constitutional crisis if not for the wisdom of a narrow majority of senators. If the documents turn out to be fake, the impeachment court would have been swindled into issuing those subpoenas. That cannot be called fair play. It cannot be simply left at that.

Umali might want to consult with Edwin Lacierda. The latter appears more solidly convinced than the prosecution team itself about the genuineness of the documents. He might know about the small lady.

I can sympathize with Umali, given that at a certain age short-term memory loss sometimes happens. Pray, give the man some more time to properly recollect.

Or else, give him some more rope.