Call for Ombudsman's resignation continues

Cebu - Not satisfied with the way the anti-graft office handles the graft and corruption cases that were lodged before it, the Dilaab Foundation Inc. has renewed its call for the resignation of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

Fr. Carmelo Diola, Dilaab president, said they are not satisfied by the government’s campaign against graft and corruption because despite their support for the Office of the Ombudsman, no action has been done to solve the problem.

With this, the church-based anti-graft group said it will continue its call for the resignation of Gutierrez and support only the officials who are “champions in the fight against graft and corruption”.

Diola, who was one of the guests in a local radio program, said that spiritual reality is needed to combat the graft and corruption that ruins the government as a whole.

On the other hand, Diola admitted that everybody is part of the problem and even the Church has its own weakness.

According to him, there are a lot of high profile graft cases that are now pending before the Office of the Ombudsman and one of them is the alleged overpricing of the lampposts that were used during the ASEAN Summit in Cebu.

Diola described the lamppost controversy as “a crime with no criminals” because until now, a little action has been made to make those responsible pay for the crime.

Other high-profile cases he cited are the fertilizer scam, the mega pacific deal and the NBN-ZTE broadband deal that remain not acted until now.

When asked who they will support in the coming 2010 presidential elections, Diola said that they are not thinking of endorsement or endorsing someone because they are non-partisan.

The priest explained that there is a process called “pastoral accompaniment,” which will the church explain to people weeks from now. He said the patronage politics that is practiced during elections is the origin of graft and corruption in the country. — Johanna Natavio/WAB (THE FREEMAN)