LAST WEEK gave us, in the main, good news and welcome international publicity for the Philippines.
The fly in the ointment was the assertion by Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile that corruption in government is more rampant now than before. I cannot disagree.
Constitutionally, the fight against corruption is spearheaded by the Ombudsman’s office. Article XI Sec 13 gives the Ombudsman’s marching orders which are:
1. Investigate any act or omission of any public official, employee, office, or agency, when such act appears to be illegal, unjust, improper, or inefficient.
2. Direct any public official or employee of the Government to perform and expedite any act or duty required by law, or to stop, prevent and correct any abuse or impropriety in the performance of duties.
3. Direct the officer concerned to take appropriate action against a public official or employee at fault, and recommend his removal, suspension, demotion, fine, censure, or prosecution.
4. Direct the officer concerned to furnish it with documents relating to contracts or transactions entered into by his office involving the disbursement or use of public funds or properties and report any irregularity to the Commission on Audit (COA) for appropriate action.
(I wonder if the Ombudsman gives this necessary support to COA. It appears as though COA is on its own and that there is insufficient momentum provided by the Ombudsman.)
5. Request any government agency for assistance and information necessary in the discharge of the Ombudsman’s responsibilities and to examine, if necessary, pertinent records and documents.
(Does the Ombudsman undertake this authority with sufficient vigor, or has it become, to some extent, an irrelevant backwater?)
6. Publicize matters covered by its investigation when circumstances so warrant and with due prudence.
(Really? Would Mr. & Mrs. Mabilog agree with the Ombudsman’s blithe assertion of their 2012-2013 alleged unexplained wealth?)
7. Determine the causes of inefficiency red tape, mismanagement, fraud in the Government and make recommendations for their elimination and the observance of high standards of ethics and efficiency.
(There is an important PR dimension to the work of the Ombudsman. We are not seeing the results of its work. The Ombudsman should be, but is not, providing frequent examples of where Government instrumentalities are falling short of necessary standards of efficiency etc.).
8. Promulgate its rules procedure and exercise such other powers or performance such functions or duties as may be provided by the law.
(Agreed. But we are not seeing these).
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There was an important anti-corruption conference held in Singapore last week. Most ASEAN countries attended in addition to Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Did our Ombudsman or his accredited representative take part?/PN
