IT DEPENDS: With his favorite target Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez having been shot down, will President Noynoy Aquino now be merciless — or merciful?

It depends.

If it is true, as the President says, that the Ombudsman is the main obstruction to his obsession to cleanse the system of corruption, then he might just cool down somewhat and be more merciful now that she is out of the way.

Besides, the voluntariness of Gutierrez’s resignation, her meekly going to him resignation letter in hand, might muffle a bit the cry for blood from his more rabid camp followers.

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NO CLUE YET: But if his fixation with Gutierrez is just an excuse for his inability to sweep away in grand fashion the big-time crooks, especially those identified with the past administration, he could still be merciless even with the Ombudsman having yielded the post.

As has been hinted at in Yellow circles, the campaign may just shift to other high-profile figures, including former President now congresswoman Gloria Arroyo. In this case, he and his followers could remain merciless.

The President would probably press on – at the risk of being distracted from the more basic tasks of governance — until he lands a really big fish.

One danger here is that the overkill over the Ombudsman may have created the impression that with Gutierrez finally forced out, graft and corruption will now be easier to sweep away.

The President and his propaganda strategists may have added inadvertently to the rising expectation that is hard to satisfy.

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NO CORRUPTION: Have you noticed that while the President is railing against corruption and picturing Gutierrez as the epitome of bureaucratic evil, there is not a single item in the litany of complaints charging her with CORRUPTION? Being slow, yes, but not corruption.

And while there is no single corruption charge in the impeachment complaint sent to the Senate, a number of congressmen (or their kin) who voted to indict Gutierrez are themselves facing corruption charges. We float around in a crazy political world.

Some partisans are warning that Gutierrez is not yet off the hook despite her resignation. Of course. That is a no-brainer. None of us, whether official or civilian, is above the law — at least in theory.

Having made the above observations, I may have to say “Peace” now to the Yellow Blog Brigade poised to unleash more ad hominem, their favorite weapon when running out of arguments.

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MISINTERPRETATION: Secretary Sonny Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office reacted to my April 28 Postscript where I said that “our biases (sometimes) arise from lack of correct information.”

He said in an email:

“After the President spoke at the UP commencement exercises last 17 April, those opposed to the RH bill began an aggressive e-mail and text blast campaign that, in my view, was based on a gross misinterpretation of what the President really said.

“The President gave the context for his support of the enactment of a law on Responsible Parenthood (more popularly known as the RH bill), by sharing this first-hand experience:

“I remember having met a 16-year old girl in Baseco who is already the mother of two children. How can she feed and educate her children when she and her spouse are jobless? Who did not do what should have been done? What pushed them into this situation? How did such a heavy burden fall on their shoulders? And the most important question: What can I as President do? I am determined to ensure the enactment into law of the principles of Responsible Parenthood. (Translated from the Pilipino original)

“Then he pointed out the need for constructive engagement and dialogue, a vital fact that is glaringly omitted in most media accounts of what the President said in that UP speech. Here is what the President said further:

“I am aware that there are opponents of this proposed law. But it is my obligation as a leader to reach out to all sectors, talk with them and explain my position — even if others have said I should be excommunicated for taking this stand. We need to listen even to those who, in the view of many, are no longer open-minded on this issue. But in the end I need to decide in accordance with the dictates of my conscience and do what is right. (Translated from the Pilipino original)

“What was reported in most newspapers was that the President dared the Church to excommunicate him. This is probably what triggered an angry reaction from opponents of the RH bill, including bishops and priests. One priest went to the extent of delivering a personal diatribe against former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros and prompting mass-goers who are apparently supportive of the RH bill to walk out in protest.

“I fully agree with you that, indeed we should all strive to attain ‘the golden mean’ and engage in constructive dialogue so that, while building on common ground, our legislators may be able to enact a law that will be beneficial to the vast majority of our people.”