The country is tuning in to the halls of the Senate and the House hoping to see some light shed on corruption. We expect truth, accountability, and a chance at justice. Yet too often what we get instead is spectacle — a parade of so-called whistleblowers who are themselves complicit in the very crimes they now narrate. The case of the Discaya couple is a prime example of this distortion of justice.

The Discayas, by their own admission, are not passive victims. They did not stumble blindly into the flood control scam. They actively participated in it. They entered multiple companies in rigged biddings, sat at the table with DPWH officials and congressmen, and agreed — voluntarily — on the percentages to kick back. Every peso was negotiated, every slice of the pie pre-arranged. There was no coercion there, no threat to force their hand. They were co-conspirators, willing beneficiaries of an elaborate scam to bleed the people dry.

Now, before cameras and microphones, they try to cloak themselves as truth tellers. They point fingers at officials, drop names with ease, and present themselves as having been merely swept along by a current they could not resist. This is not heroism; it is opportunism. They seek the safety of protection programs, the mercy of immunity, and perhaps even the promise of financial and political leverage. In so doing, they twist the very purpose of legislative investigations.

The danger lies in how these testimonies are received. Once a name is spoken in a public hearing, reputations are instantly tarnished — regardless of evidence, regardless of due process. Political actors seize on these statements, not to pursue justice, but to advance their own agendas. A rival’s name uttered by the Discayas can become a weapon, an instant headline, a tool to destabilize. The truth, instead of standing on its own, becomes a bargaining chip.

This is how opportunism poisons our search for justice. The Discayas do not come before us with clean hands to expose the rot in the system. They come with dirty hands and try to wash the grime off by splashing it on everyone else. Their testimony may reveal fragments of truth, yes, but it is a truth with self-interest at its core.

As citizens, we must remain vigilant. We cannot allow ourselves to be dazzled by the theatrics of the hearings or seduced by the drama of dropped names. The real evil is two-fold: the corruption that robbed the people in the first place, and the opportunism that now tries to turn crime into currency.

The truth is welcome, but never truth bartered by those who profited from lies.