Corruption in the Philippines has been a never-ending problem. Scandal after scandal, government officials always find ways to appease the people’s anger, but nothing really changes – they live to rob the nation another day. Corruption festers because the very laws and systems meant to prevent them are riddled with loopholes. These loopholes are left there by design.
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has the golden opportunity to drastically minimize corruption for good, but only if it takes deliberate steps on three fronts: (1) by preventing flight by persons of interest and holding them to account, (2) by preventing them from hiding assets and restitution to the state and (3) by pushing for reforms to plug the legal loopholes.
What the ICI does in the next few months will determine whether this moment serves as a genuine turning point for the country or just another chapter in our endless cycle of exposés, denials, arrests and pardons.
Preventing escape
It has become routine for accused Filipino officials to hide abroad to evade accountability. Apart from being an act of cowardice, this caper gravely undermines the rule of law. For government to allow the guilty to slip away sends the dangerous signal that justice can be avoided. Such impunity weakens law enforcement and corrodes public trust in our institutions. Government must decisively close this escape route, otherwise, Philippine law risks becoming a hollow abstraction, powerless against those it was meant to restrain.
Thus, the ICI must immediately coordinate with the Bureau of Immigration and the judiciary to ensure that no person of interest slips through the cracks. The ICI should immediately request the DOJ to issue hold departure orders (HDOs) for key suspects. The Department of Foreign Affairs should track passport renewals, replacements or foreign citizenship applications of those under investigation. If escape has occurred, the ICI must request blue/red notices from the Interpol and pursue extradition.
By showing vigilance against flight, government affirms that it is serious in its pursuit of justice and that no one escapes the hand of the law.
Prevention of asset hiding
Corruption thrives in the Philippines because plunderers have gone unpunished and are allowed to keep their loot.
Some of the more common strategies of wealth concealment include: bogus divestments and the use of proxies to register companies, land, treasury accounts and other assets; the use of layered corporate ownerships in offshore shell companies; conversion of cash to valuable assets like jewelry, art, antiques or cryptocurrency, all under proxy entities; stashing cash in bank secrecy havens abroad, among others.
To counter these tactics, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) must immediately freeze suspicious accounts. Too, local governments must cross-check land titles with declared income.
Globally, the ICI should use cross-border cooperation under the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) to track and recover stolen wealth.
Justice only becomes real and lessons are learned when ill-gotten assets are frozen, sequestered and visibly returned to the state.
Legal and institutional reforms
Investigations are useless unless they lead to systemic reform. The ICI must use its findings to push for reforms across two fronts: Supreme Court jurisprudence and political reforms.
As repeatedly requested by former undersecretary Cielo Magno and former COA commissioner Heidi Mendoza the Supreme Court must rule decisively on constitutional questions relating to corruption. In particular, the constitutionality of confidential and intelligence funds, the constitutionality of transferring surplus funds from GOCCs to the national government and the question about political dynasties (although the Constitution prohibits political dynasties, Congress has failed to define it for self-serving purposes; an SC ruling that affirms the illegality of dynasties would be historic).
Political reforms include: for the SALNs of public officials to be made public again; for automatic lifestyle audits to be conducted every two years, with public disclosure; for politicians with unresolved Notices of Disallowance from the COA to be barred from running for office until they reimburse the national treasury and of course, the enact the Freedom of Information Law.
Moving forward, civil society must play a formal role in infrastructure projects with the legal standing to file graft cases. As Mendoza and Magno pointed out, DPWH infrastructure projects currently rest in the hands of only four officials – the bids and awards head, the certifier of work, the inspector and the approving officer – thus, creating a monopoly ripe for abuse. To break this, civil groups should participate. Members of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants must certify project costs, while members of the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers must certify design specifications and lead the inspections of projects before final payments are released. Citizen oversight is the strongest deterrent against collusion and corruption.
We must also strengthen corruption watchdog oversight. Currently, the ombudsman, Sandiganbayan and COA are weakened because their leaders are appointed by politicians and their budgets are controlled by Congress. This undermines independence.
To address this, structural reforms must be enacted. An independent appointments council composed of retired justices, bar associations and civil society must be formed to select watchdog leaders. These watchdogs must have fiscal autonomy with automatic appropriations constitutionally protected. One non-renewable term for watchdog leaders, preventing them from currying favor for reappointment.
Other broader reforms include: the establishment of a blockchain-based platform which publishes contracts, bids and payments in real time; the ban on political donations by government contractors; the creation of a public registry that rates contractors, banning those with a record of fraud or substandard work; that all campaign donations go through a clearinghouse with public disclosure; that gross negligence that enables corruption be criminalized.
Many say that PBBM is sincere about instituting anti-corruption reforms this time. I hope they are right. I pray PBBM listens to his heart and carries out these enduring reforms.