【明報專訊】STUDY after study has been conducted on whether the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO) can be so amended as to fully apply to the Chief Executive, still there is much cry and little wool. The government's stance has changed from promising two years ago to "initiate the legislative process as soon as possible" to simply "report the findings after the study", without a specific timetable for fulfilling the promise. That inevitably invites public doubt about whether the government has broken its word. The Chief Executive has a dual role; their responsibility is to both the central and the SAR governments. This unique constitutional status has posed a major problem to the amendment of the ordinance. However, that does not mean the government should procrastinate indefinitely. The Basic Law's stipulation that the Chief Executive shall declare his or her assets shows that the central government also demands a high standard of the Chief Executive's probity. The SAR government should discuss with the central government the enhancement of the related legal mechanism so as to straighten out the problems in relation to the CE's unique constitutional status and legal monitoring and to make sure there are no loopholes in the laws against corruption.