They are absolutely right. And they are not the only ones who have seen how in the last seven years of Gloria's tainted reign as an "unelected president," she has come close to perfecting what may called the "art of unaccountability."

This reminded us about the $329 million National Broadband Network (NBN) project, the contract for which Gloria scrapped. It was clearly an attempt to cover up the corruption-marred deal.

She cancelled the deal when her name and that of the First Spouse and key government officials were dragged into it. There were allegations of commissions by one of her close political ally as well as insinuations of meddling by the First Spouse in favor of the ZTE Corporation, the Chinese telecommunications supplier.

The anomalous deal, now the subject of Senate investigation, was one of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects financed by the Export-Import Bank of China. There are other ODA projects financed not only China but also by Japan and other countries.

These ODA loans, according to The Financial Times of London may also spark allegations of scandals and corruption, too, just like the ZTE-NBN deal. And such foreign loans not in millions but in billions of dollars threaten to "drag the Filipino people, particularly taxpayers, "deeper in debt."

Already, the report said, the Philippines had received new ODA loans of $741 million in 2003 and 2005, and in 2006 soared to $1.3 billion.

"From an average of only $741 million between 2003 and 2005, new ODA loans commitments to the Philippines almost doubled to $1.3 billion in 2006. Last year (2007), new loans reached at least $1.26 billion." ODA loans are long-term money lent by foreign governments or multilateral bodies at easy repayment terms to fund development projects.

The same report noted "serious flaws in the identification, design, evaluation, and implementation of government projects have resulted in failed or bad projects.

"Too often, lenders tie up ODA outlays to contractors of their choice. Worst of all, kickbacks exacted by political sponsors in some cases have yielded overpriced projects."

This is why Filipino financial experts, who used to hold key positions in government, have warned that foreign-funded projects, now totalling 71, "may sink the Philippines in a debt crisis similar to that of the 1980s."

Indeed, one may well suspect that a lot of hanky-panky may have happened, too, in other ODA projects funded by China, surely something that the Senate should dig into as thoroughly as they are now doing in the corruption-marred ZTE-NBN deal.

Let us remind the senators of the results of the latest survey by the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, not to mention the surveys by the Pulse Asia and the Makati Business Club, that found the Philippines to be the "most corrupt in Asia."

The senators should act now because, as former Cabinet and other key officials have warned, there are unbridled attempts to "cover up the increasing stench of corruption."