Could it be true that Malacañang staffers have been ordered to shred documents, with no explanations, and with no written memo, a little over a month before the President of matuwid-na-daan steps down?

Napaka-exciting naman! What is being shredded, and who exactly is squealing it to the media? I mean for all our complaints against Rappler, I don’t think they’d come out with a story were their sources not credible and reliable. And they are correct when they say that government is not allowed by law to be destroying any documents at all, as per RA9470.

SEC. 18. Disposal of Public Records. No government department, bureau, agency and instrumentality shall dispose of, destroy or authorize the disposal or destruction of any public records, which are in the custody or under its control except with the prior written authority of the executive director.

Now unless the director of the National Archives comes out to claim responsibility for this reported shredding, then we are allowed to think what we can about it, yes? Let’s take our cue from Jim Paredes:

Let us ignore the fact that government is not company, shall we?

Meanwhile, as we continue to wonder about the public documents DaangMatuwid is destroying, let us remember who else was documented to have shredded papers — and burned documents, too! — before leaving Malacañang.

MALACAÑANG PALACE ► Aruiza saw Fe Roa Gimenez, Mrs. Marcos’s private secretary, emptying her desk of papers. At first, she fed them to the shredder but it was slow work. Aruiza suggested that she pile them all in one place and he would order the boys to burn them. If Gimenez knew of their departure, she was not telling, but Aruiza overheard her calling up close associates for help to get rid of confidential papers. (1:30PM, February 25.)

MALACAÑANG PALACE ► Back on the Palace side of the river, the scene was chaotic. Baggage was being carried down to small watercraft on the river; there were big fires around the place. They were burning something — documents. (6:3oPM, February 25.)**

*From Malacañang to Makiki (1991) and ** Veritas Special (1986), via edsarevolution.com.