Politics and corruption

As we continue to regularly monitor the CJ impeachment trial, we become more and more convinced that reforming our government and cleaning it of graft and corruption is really difficult if not altogether unachievable. And the main reason is not so much in our system of government but in the people running the system.

For one, there are enough laws and rules to ensure transparency and public accountability, but the mindset of most government officials and employees is centered on how they could go around them instead of strictly complying with them. The concrete example here is how those in government are superciliously treating the SALN which is required by law to be submitted by them as the on-going trial has shown.

The law requires all public servants to submit SALN annually in order to determine whether they have accumulated unexplained or ill gotten wealth while in public service. Yet as it is now turning out, the SALNs of most of these officials including the accused and the accusers in this case may have some discrepancies and may not accurately reflect the true worth of their assets. Hence instead of voluntarily disclosing its contents, they would rather keep it private for as long as they can, or unless requested and forced to do so.

Likewise apparent is the presence of favoritism and selectiveness in building up and prosecuting cases of corruption and other irregularities. All the resources of government are used in removing from office and in digging up the wrongdoings of known political enemies, while little or no action at all is taken against political appointees and close friends or confidants. While Corona’s alleged sins may be bigger and his position in government may be higher, people would still like to see that some disciplinary sanctions are imposed on some officials in the present administration already caught red-handed or found guilty, identified and dubbed by critics as the kabarkada, kaklase, at kabarilan.

More alarming is the role of politics in this alleged drive to reform our government. In the Corona case which has been flaunted as the centerpiece of reform in the judiciary, the initiation of the impeachment complaint by the Lower House has all the signs of political maneuverings. These signs are manifested by the rash gathering of signatures of congressmen/women in the Articles of Impeachment instead of a meticulous study and gathering of evidence to support said complaint. The developments in the on-going impeachment trial have indeed revealed that the complaint has been ill-prepared and its evidence is completely absent. Like all political moves, it has become a numbers game.

And the purely political nature of the move is further confirmed by P-Noy himself who is the Chief Executive of the other political branch of government. He has not only been meddling in the Senate proceedings by commenting on the evidences being presented by the prosecution, stressing their strength and/or explaining their defects either personally or through his spokespersons in Malacanang. He has also been going all over town already telling people that Corona is guilty of some of the charges even while the Senate trial is still going on. In short P-Noy has been drumming up the peoples’ support so that the Senate itself will be pressured into playing politics and resolve the case according to popular belief and sentiment rather than on the evidence offered and admitted during the trial. If these moves go on, as they appear to be, since P-Noy claims that he has the freedom to express his opinion and thus refuses to be gagged, then the impeachment case will be converted into a popularity contest rather than a contest of proofs.

Needless to say, politics will gravely affect the credibility of the impeachment trial and its result. It is common knowledge that politicians usually put their own selfish interest ahead of the best interest of the country. If they believe that convicting Corona of any impeachable offense will promote their political ambitions, chances are they will so decide regardless of evidence offered and admitted. 

Indeed, it cannot be denied that politicians spend a lot of money just to win in the election and attain positions of power because they expect not only to recover their campaign expenses but also to earn a lot more while in position. This is especially true in Congress because of the perks and the porks (barrel) that members of Congress enjoy. Hence talks have circulated about an alleged P100 million pay-off to each Senator who will disregard the TRO issued by the SC in connection with the foreign currency deposit of Corona. While it has been denied by all parties concerned people still do not completely discount the credibility of such talks.

P-Noy may really be sincere in his intentions to cleanse our government of corrupt and dishonest officials in government. But the manner and style he uses in carrying out his intentions indicate that he may not succeed in his quest or that he is actually not that sincere. This impeachment case somehow confirms this observation. He wants to reform the government by prosecuting first of all the past president and her other appointees who are still in position and trying to protect her like Corona. But he is using the same method of the past administration in trying to achieve his purpose. Instead of asking his officials and allies to quietly, carefully and diligently prepare the cases to be filed, he rushed them up in filing the charges so that he will appear to be doing his job as promised and thus maintain popularity. He is playing politics in achieving reforms and in doing so, his moves have become legally questionable, thus giving his opponents enough weapons to frustrate his avowed purpose.

Hence cleaning our government of graft and corruption is still an impossible dream.     

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