What’s happening to the ‘porky-pigs’?

Plunder charges have already been filed for those associated with the pork barrel scam. But do you think such cases are strong enough to achieve justice?

What happens to senators and congressmen with plunder cases? Can they still hold office and if they do will they still be given the money (that has been allocated to them) to serve their constituents? To those in government and to the legislators these questions may seem trivial. But to the many hardworking citizens, the answer is vital.  It may reflect the destiny of this nation.

It is a known fact that in Japan, if a member of the Japanese Diet is implicated in corruption, he will go up to the rooftop, meekly accept his guilt, ask forgiveness for his misdeeds and jump to his death to preserve whatever is left of his family’s honor.

Of course for obvious reasons, this is not the case in the Philippines. A politician will never admit to his guilt and will never even think of taking his life. It is considered a mortal sin in our religion as Catholics to commit suicide. Our politicians who cheat, lie and steal will forever have the audacity to always proclaim their innocence.

What makes a Filipino politician numb and insensitive to what appears to be obvious? Maybe it is the never-say-die fighting spirit or the belief that nothing is impossible especially when you have the power and the right connections.

The way I see it, it has become one of the typical traits of a Filipino politician to be callous and thick-skinned because charges made against them are often viewed to be politically motivated. In a seriously flawed system we cannot expect a public official to step down from office or even just take a leave out of delicadeza. Why? First, he might be a victim of political persecution and vindictiveness, which truly happens. Second, taking a leave of office may be taken as a sign of guilt because the innocent should fight for the truth. And third, they assume that voters easily forget their misdeeds so they buy out time until the coast is clear. Thus, unlike the Japanese, our politicians will never take the shortcut in this regard. Besides, anyone can say that every person is presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

But at this point in time, no amount of mudslinging can change the perception that people have of all the senators and congressmen implicated in the pork barrel issue. The best thing that they can do for themselves now is to keep quiet and wait for the right time and venue to defend themselves. As a consequence of Senator Estrada’s speech, more corrupt practices have been unearthed and very soon more heads will roll. If this scandalous trend continues, it will be tantamount to putting the whole Senate in shame. Sanamagan!

So, what do we expect then of our legislators charged with plunder or violations of the Anti-Graft Law? Nothing extraordinary I guess. They will hang on to their positions not for themselves but “for the people who voted for them”; claim their innocence and blame others; approach the case legalistically and look for loopholes; withstand the storm and wait for the next elections. No one will heed any public outcry for them to momentarily take a leave. It has never been in our political culture to make a personal sacrifice. We fight to the last drop and challenge the law to the hilt.

With the statement that the legislators implicated in the plunder case will continue in office during the pendency thereof, a breeze through the laws on suspension of a legislator may be of interest to all.

Under the Constitution, each House may punish its Members for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of two-thirds of all its Members, suspend or expel a Member. At present, there is no case filed with the Ethics Committees of both houses. Besides, we cannot expect legislators to sanction their colleagues. Remember the saying that goes: “Those who have not sinned may cast the first stone!” So who is courageous enough among them to cast that stone? If it does happen, that would be a day of triumph for the Filipino people who have been fighting for justice in this land.

The Ombudsman Act has a provision on preventive suspension pending investigation when the evidence of guilt is strong, but this will apply only to administrative cases within the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman. We cannot therefore expect the Ombudsman to issue any order of preventive suspension against a sitting Senator or Congressman because of legal and jurisdictional limitations.

The Plunder Act provides that “Any public officer against whom any criminal prosecution under a valid information under this Act in whatever stage of execution and mode of participation, is pending in court, shall be suspended from office. Should he be convicted by final judgment, he shall lose all retirement or gratuity benefits under any law, but if he is acquitted, he shall be entitled to reinstatement and to the salaries and other benefits which he failed to receive during suspension, unless in the meantime, administrative proceedings have been filed against him.” A relatively similar provision is also found in the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

It is therefore clear that any appointed or elected public officer may be preventively suspended due to criminal indictment under the Plunder Law or the Anti-Graft Act. But this could happen only when the case is filed with the Sandiganbayan and after giving the accused the opportunity to question the validity of the information against him in a pre-suspension hearing. This only means that we will not witness any dramatic service of a suspension order upon a sitting legislator in the next few months. In fact we may not ever witness one.

In the event of a preventive suspension, which is mandatory under the Plunder and Anti-Graft Acts, will it be for the entire pendency of the criminal case? The Supreme Court has held that an unreasonable length of time of suspension is violative of the due process and equal protection clauses of the Constitution. Thus preventive suspension under the Anti-Plunder Law and the Anti-Graft Law shall be limited to a period of 90 days, which period is provided in our Civil Service laws.

With the way our criminal justice system is moving, it is safe to assume that a legislator facing even a very serious plunder case will be out of office momentarily during his period of preventive suspension but only for 90 days. Even if plunder is non-bailable, the lawmaker, who is presumed innocent until proven guilty, could finish his term while in jail and may continue availing all the perks and pork of his office, including transportation expenses.

The best recourse for us now is to stop voting for these crooks into office. Another election is on its way. We must not forget. We must vote wisely so that we can have the government we truly deserve.

“A mistake may mark a man, but admitting a mistake is the mark of a man.”– Zak Vora