EDITORIAL - Graftbusters

Reforms started in the current administration must be sustained. This is the reason invoked by those hoping that President Aquino will get a second term. Even without a term extension, however, the President can make it harder for his successor to overturn reforms by seeing to it that new ways of governance are institutionalized.

The President can also heed suggestions made last week to give more resources to the agencies that are in the front line of the battle against corruption. These are the Commission on Audit, whose employees are tasked to look out for anomalous transactions in the agencies where they are assigned, and the Office of the Ombudsman, which investigates and prepares cases against erring public officials.

Last week at the bail hearing of businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, a Sandiganbayan justice lamented the failure of state auditors to detect the pork barrel scam early enough. Associate Justice Samuel Martires was told that because of limited manpower and resources, the COA could conduct only random auditing of government transactions.

The same problem bedevils the Office of the Ombudsman, which needs to double its current contingent of 363 prosecutors. If the office pursues the findings in special audits conducted by the COA in the use of the congressional pork barrel, nearly 200 lawmakers may be indicted for corruption. Each charge has to stick. Will the Office of the Ombudsman be up to the job?

During the six-year trial of Joseph Estrada for plunder following his ouster as president, ombudsman prosecutors related how challenging it was to secure a conviction. Guilt must be established beyond reasonable doubt, which means nothing less than solid evidence will do. A solid money trail must be presented to bolster witnesses’ testimonies. This often requires painstaking sleuthing, with the prosecution handled by teams rather than just an individual or two.

Almost all government agencies can use additional funds. The COA and Office of the Ombudsman must compete for additional people and resources. But since the President has made the battle against corruption the linchpin of his administration, he should give the graftbusters sufficient weapons to win the fight.