ILOILO City – The widening crackdown on alleged corruption must not end with the prosecution of a few political heavyweights but should follow the trail of accountability wherever it leads — even to the highest levels of government, anti-corruption alliance Kahublagan Kontra Kurapsyon (KKK-Iloilo) declared.
As high-profile politicians confront plunder cases, investigations, impeachment proceedings and other legal challenges, KKK-Iloilo warned that the public should not allow the campaign against corruption to deteriorate into selective justice in which some powerful figures are prosecuted while others are protected.
The group demanded an impartial judicial process, equal treatment of accused officials and a comprehensive investigation of what it described as systemic plunder of public funds.
“We demand an impartial judicial process that refuses bail deals, rejects privileges for the powerful, and holds all corrupt officials fully answerable to the public,” KKK declared.
“Lahat ng sangkot, dapat managot,” they stressed.
KKK-Iloilo issued the call following the Office of the Ombudsman’s indictment and arrest of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and former House Appropriations Committee chair Zaldy Co over an alleged ₱7.4-billion flood control scam.
The alliance also cited legal and political controversies involving Senator Loren Legarda, Rep. Leandro Leviste and Vice President Sara Duterte.
“Moreover, the Ombudsman has made remarks targeting Senator Loren Legarda and her son, Rep. Leandro Leviste, in connection with a ₱10-billion solar power project inquiry. Concurrently, Vice President Sara Duterte faces a continuing impeachment trial at the Senate and posted bail for her grave threats case,” it added.
KKK-Iloilo said the sudden succession of cases and investigations may appear to signal a tougher government stance against corruption, but it cautioned against viewing the developments in isolation.
NO SPECIAL TREATMENT
The group particularly questioned the treatment of Romualdez following his arrest at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, saying powerful defendants should not receive privileges unavailable to ordinary accused persons.
“While former Speaker Martin Romualdez is considered arrested, his immediate hospital detention at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center follows a recurring script in Philippine history. While ordinary citizens accused of far lesser offenses are routinely thrown into overcrowded jail cells, powerful elites can retreat to air-conditioned hospital suites. We should not allow his medical retreat to be used to buy time for negotiated arrangements behind closed doors,” it added.
KKK-Iloilo said Duterte’s grave threats case should likewise not distract from unresolved questions surrounding confidential funds at the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education.
On Legarda and Leviste, the coalition said public officials facing investigations should submit themselves to judicial processes rather than rely on prolonged medical exemptions or overseas stays.
ACCOUNTABILITY MUST REACH THE TOP
KKK-Iloilo also raised the possibility that the simultaneous actions against prominent political figures could become a managed accountability campaign that punishes selected allies and rivals while insulating others from scrutiny.
The coalition claimed that focusing responsibility for questionable public expenditures solely on legislators would ignore the role of the executive branch in preparing and approving the national budget.
“No Speaker of the House moves billions of pesos in public funds without the marching orders and blessing of the chief executive,” the group emphasized.
It said corruption and impunity ultimately exact their heaviest toll on ordinary Filipinos already struggling with high commodity and fuel prices, a weaker peso and growing national debt.
With September 21 approaching — the anniversary of the declaration of martial law under the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and a date associated with anti-corruption mobilizations — KKK-Iloilo called for sustained public pressure for accountability.
“We must not stop in demanding complete, uncompromised accountability that climbs straight to the top of the executive branch and includes the President, who drafted and approved national budgets that facilitated the systemic plunder of public funds,” the group lamented.
“Hold all corrupt officials accountable! No exemptions!,” they stressed./PN
