EDITORIAL – Public shaming

Resign or be fired, President Duterte told two assistant secretaries yesterday amid accusations that the two abused their positions and engaged in corruption. He had previously sent similar orders to several Cabinet secretaries, including old friends and members of his 2016 campaign team.

As of late yesterday afternoon, Moslemen Macarambon Sr. had heeded the President’s call and resigned as assistant secretary of the Department of Justice. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said investigation conducted by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission showed Macarambon had interceded in a jewelry smuggling case at the NAIA on May 3.

Macarambon denied wrongdoing and said his in-laws were being asked to pay P6 million in Customs duties for bringing in jewelry valued at P7 million. The assessment was brought down to P1.38 million through his intercession.

There was no word from the other assistant secretary, Tingagun Ampaso Umpa of the Department of Public Works and Highways, who is accused of seeking commissions from contractors in exchange for awarding them DPWH projects in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Umpa assumed his post as assistant secretary for ARMM operations and special Mindanao projects only on Jan. 5 this year.

It’s not the first time that Malacañang has announced the sacking of government officials on accusations of corruption. The public shaming alone should serve as a warning to others who are using their positions to enrich themselves or are considering entering into crooked deals.

The best deterrent, however, is the certainty of punishment. It’s not enough to order erring officials to resign or be fired. The Office of the Ombudsman must pick up the ball and initiate its own investigation of the sacked officials for possible criminal prosecution.

The ombudsman can ask for copies of the relevant materials used by the presidential commission for use as evidence. If the officials can be fired over the cases, the ombudsman should be able to indict them quickly enough before the Sandiganbayan.

In turn the anti-graft court can speed up its adjudication, taking its cue from the uncharacteristic lightning speed by which the Supreme Court threw out the chief justice through a simple quo warranto petition. The sacked Cabinet members deserve due process but must not be given the opportunity to seek an acquittal by invoking any “inordinate delay” in their indictment by the ombudsman.

Such acquittals, and the general failure to punish those accused of corruption especially plunder, is one of the biggest reasons for the persistence of graft. Beyond the public shaming, which is welcomed by those who are sick of entrenched corruption, guilt must be established and appropriate punishment imposed.