Palace vows due process in conviction of corrupt

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang is working with the judiciary for a review of the rules of court to make sure cases against corrupt officials are swiftly addressed without sacrificing due process.

“One of the suggestions made was how you can abbreviate the procedural, the legal procedure without sacrificing due process. That is one of the things we are looking at,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said yesterday in a press briefing.  

“They (judiciary) are also looking (at) reviewing the rules of court, how to fast-track the cases because it takes four years to six years from the court of origin to decide the case, then if you go up, it’s almost like 20 years,” he added.

Lacierda said the Cabinet’s good governance cluster led by Budget Secretary Florencio Abad is the one coordinating with the judiciary.

On Sunday, President Aquino expressed hope that some corrupt officials of the Arroyo administration would be convicted by next year.

“With a little cooperation from the judiciary, we may be able to jail those people by next year. We will make those who committed sins responsible so they would not be emulated,” Aquino told the Filipino community in Japan. Aquino said the government would file charges before the end of the year against those who stole taxpayers’ money.

He cited as examples the alleged anomalies in the billion-peso coffee supply contract of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and the sale of secondhand helicopters to the Philippine National Police by former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

“We will make sure that this will not just end up in exposés but with strong evidence, the suspects will not be able to get away,” the President said.

“We will reverse the situation that we had to face when we came in. My desire is simple: that June 30, 2016, I will step down with head held high and I won’t be ashamed to face the millions of Filipinos who put their trust in me because they will see that changes have really been widespread,” he added.

Lacierda stressed there would be no politics in the filing of charges against officials of the previous administration.

“We have no intention of politicizing the process. Again, it’s all on the matter of making sure that all the procedural due process have been served,” Lacierda said.

“This is what we are aiming for, that (the cases) we are filing will be won based on truth beyond reasonable doubt in cases of civil cases, the preponderance of evidence,” he added.

Lacierda clarified that the executive can only recommend to the judiciary.

“With respect to the rules of court, that falls within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under the Constitution. They have the right to change the rules of court,” he said.

“Things are moving on. We are incurring evidence. We are continuously looking for evidence. People who have expressed interest to reveal what they know are surfacing,” he said.

Cory’s model

For a civil society group advocating good governance, President Aquino only has to revive the tack employed by his mother, the late Corazon Aquino, in fighting corruption.

Prof. Leonor Briones, former national treasurer and convenor of Social Watch Philippines, suggested that Aquino try the “Cory model,” which she said, was successful during the tenure of the late president from 1986 to 1992.

“All Cabinet members are required to study all organizations under them and track their anti-corruption plan. They should report every meeting on their progress and make an assessment on how they curbed corruption within their agency every year,” Briones said explaining the “Cory model.”

She said there is no need to create a separate anti-corruption agency as the Office of the Executive Secretary can oversee programs of each Cabinet member.

Briones said Aquino can expand the model by requesting the legislative branch and local government units to initiate their own internal anti-corruption programs.

She said incidences of corruption in key agencies, including the Department of Education, Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources had considerably dropped during the first Aquino administration.

“The preventive side is more important because you make it difficult for a person to do a corrupt act,” she said.

Briones, and professors Danilo Reyes and Ma. Oliva Domingo of the Social Watch Philippines are scheduled to present today “Pinoy Solutions to Corruption” at the National College of Public Administration and Governance at the University of the Philippines.

“Graft and corruption now threatens to be as Pinoy as lechon, adobo, sinigang and paksiw. It seems to be as endemic as dengue, tuberculosis and cholera. The solution to this national blight can only come from the Filipinos themselves,” Briones said.

Meanwhile, the Makati Business Club said its stand against corruption has not wavered.

“The Makati Business Club will never compromise its fundamental and unwavering opposition to corruption, be it in the public or private sectors. Over the past 30 years, we have consistently and steadfastly expressed very strong positions on issues of corruption, even at the cost of displeasing powerful vested interests. MBC remains resolute in this conviction,” it said in a statement.

“We are reiterating this position in light of recent news reports that would make it appear that MBC has softened its stand against corruption,” the MBC added.

The MBC said that a statement made last Sept. 7 by MBC chairman Ramon del Rosario Jr. after a press conference by the Integrity Initiative Steering Committee was not meant to condone corruption.

“The statement does not condone corruption, but it acknowledges that some risk exists that projects will not be 100 percent corruption-free. It expresses concern that an extreme fear of corruption may cause government to be frozen into inaction on much needed infrastructure spending,” the MBC said. “The primary message is that government spending, especially for infrastructure, should now be pursued more aggressively because it is essential to spur economic growth. We agree that the government should take all necessary and reasonable precautions to safeguard the integrity of its proposed big-ticket infrastructure projects, but it is also imperative that we start moving forward on the programs that will help lift our country from the clutches of poverty,” the MBC said. – With Mike Frialde and Paolo Romero