Can we ever get serious on corruption?

Corruption is in the air… suffocating us so. It is depressing that almost for sure, after all the dirty linen has been aired, no big politician is going to jail soon. Indeed, we have not found any biggie guilty enough to go to jail all these years. Erap was found guilty but was pardoned immediately. The Marcoses? Well…

GMA, JPE, Jinggoy and Bong may be in jail now, but there is no certainty they will be found guilty of corruption. The Ombudsman has yet to prove it has what it takes to get big guys convicted. The Sandiganbayan’s reputation has been tarnished as one of its justices was kicked out by the Supreme Court for questionable behavior.

I do not believe we as a people are serious in dealing with corruption. If we are, we would have mandated inclusion of a paragraph in the SALNs of government officials that waives their bank secrecy rights so a proper lifestyle check can be done.

 Lawyers of accused big guys are able to win cases using creative interpretation of our laws and their connections in the judicial system. Take the case of Jinggoy Estrada. It no longer matters if he is guilty or not of the plunder charges. His lawyer is saying the whistle blower is a criminal to have spilled the beans on the plunder of state funds.

Teka muna. Did Sen Estrada get that kickback from Mrs Napoles or didn’t he? Yes or No. If he did, then he must suffer the consequences. If he didn’t, then he should be freed.

Estrada’s lawyers asked the Sandiganbayan to suppress as evidence the digital files listing the names of the senator and other legislators who Napoles transacted with and the amount of their kickbacks through the years. If this legal maneuver works, let us forget prosecuting any corrupt public official for good.

Somehow, any reasonable person would think public interest outweighs the confidentiality of Mrs Napoles’ files. The computer files of Mrs Napoles shows Estrada supposedly received or was entitled to P183 million in exchange for his endorsement of her dummy foundations as recipients of the senator’s PDAF for questionable projects.

Did he or did he not receive the money? That’s the only question of interest to the public.

Of course, the senator and his lawyers are within their rights to exploit all legal means to get off the hook. But by seeking to exclude such damning evidence, they are practically pleading guilty, but want to get away anyway.

It is the same thing in the case of Sen Bong Revilla. The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) told the Sandiganbayan that cash deposits of over P87 million made to Revilla’s and to his family members’ accounts were consistent with the financial records of state witness Benhur Luy.

There were deposits made within 30 days after supposed kickbacks were delivered from Napoles to Revilla, as recorded by Luy. The team found that Revilla terminated his accounts and investments as soon as the scandal broke out in the media.

Defense lawyers dismissed movements in Revilla’s accounts as mere circumstantial evidence. Indeed, they questioned the appearance of the AMLC official as prosecution witness, claiming his knowledge as AMLC officer has nothing to do with the senator’s plunder case.

Circumstantial or not, the public is entitled to a credible explanation of the circumstances. Was it mere coincidence that deposits were made close to the dates the Napoles records show kickbacks were paid? And why close the accounts once the scandal broke out?

I am not confident the courts of law will give us justice here soon. But the court of public opinion will surely exact some amount of retribution. This is also why continuing the Senate hearings on VP Jojo Binay is important.

Of course that hearing is politically motivated but that’s beside the point. I don’t think the senators have a smoking gun, not a legal smoking gun anyway that would land VP Jojo in prison. The VP is too bright a lawyer to allow any legal misstep all these years. That is why the VP in both his PICC speech and in Lynda Jumilla’s interview is focused on the legal defense. 

 Indeed, all we have may be circumstantial evidence from a source that is admittedly polluted, but undeniably knowledgeable. VP Jojo has to be careful that while he may be safe legally, the court of public opinion, which hardly respects legal niceties, will condemn him if he does not appear to be more forthright. That’s why 79 percent of SWS respondents want Binay to face the Senate committee.

The failure for Binay and his wife to resist the urge to brag through the years is probably the mistake that may do them in. He and his wife brought enough people to the farm as guests. The Binays must have told them or given the impression that the farm is theirs. Some of these guests are now talking in private about who owns it.

That old woman interviewed by ABS-CBN who pointed to “Binay” as the buyer of her property seems credible too with no reason to lie in her old age. The failure to register new owners of the properties over the years also seems suspicious.

Indeed, as journalist Marites Danguilan Vitug pointed out in her Facebook post: “Nowhere in Rosario, Batangas do I have any property,” Binay emphatically told ANC. Then immediately added, “registered under my name.” I wonder why he added the last phrase. It opens up the possibility that he has property in someone else’s name, doesn’t it?

We need to get corruption convictions soon if our national credibility is to be protected. Early this week, two Japanese cabinet members resigned due to questions on some of their actions which seem minor compared to what our officials are being accused of.

Even in China, they have gone after high military officials and communist party leaders suspected of corruption. This was unheard of before. They are also working with other countries to go after officials who fled from China with their ill-gotten wealth.

In the end, the failure to control corruption affects the country’s competitiveness and attractiveness to investors. How can investors trust a country whose government officials are corrupt? 

And because many countries now have strong foreign anti-corruption laws, they will be reluctant to risk prosecution at home because they did what they had to do to remain in business here.

The question is: what must we individually and collectively do to show the world that our country is finally serious in dealing with corruption? It is tough but we must keep the pressure no matter how futile it may seem. Getting corruption convictions may seem impossible but we must push on to recover our national honor and reputation as a respectable people.

Good ol’ times

Why are seniors like me sounding so desperate about the state of our country? Simply because… we do not want to leave this country worse than when we were born into it.

Here is something that was posted in one of my e-mail groups by Lito Demonteverde.

We who are now in our 60’s and 70’s are a lucky bunch.

We lived through the ‘50s when the Philippines was still a decent country. We had senators of the highest caliber – Ledesma, Recto, Manglapus, Rodrigo, Pelaez, etc.

As a student, I could take public transportation from Sta. Ana to go to Ateneo at 4 a.m. to be on time to serve the 6 a.m. Mass at the Faculty House in Loyola Heights and not be afraid of being mugged in the street.

People in general around me, both rich and poor were good natured and honest. Some of my best friends are the poor kids from the slum areas of Sta. Ana and my rich school mates at the Ateneo. As far as I can remember, they were all good guys and honorable.

The Philippines was looked up to by our neighboring countries. I went to Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Saigon in 1965 to meet students from many other countries. They were all at awe of the Philippines and told me how lucky I was to be a Filipino and live in the Philippines.

What happened in the last 50 years?

We are now almost at the bottom of the barrel.

Our senators are no longer of the highest caliber.

It’s dangerous to walk around Manila, especially in the wee hours of the morning.

Many people are preying and scamming other people, even targeting the Balikbayans and OFWs as soon as they arrive at the airport.

The young people of today have not experienced living in the good old days when Filipinos, both rich and poor were honorable.

How I wish we can turn back the hands of time.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is[email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco