Double standard

Now it is getting clearer that the much vaunted “war” of Duterte against corruption is purely for show. It is a sham and a complete mockery especially because of the double standard used in carrying it out as shown by the recent revelation on the multimillion peso contracts between the family owned security agency of Solicitor General Calida and various government offices including the Department of Justice (DOJ).

While several heads of government agencies and even assistant secretaries and undersecretaries of government departments have been publicly and unceremoniously fired by Duterte simply because they frequently travel abroad, he still defends Calida and says that there is no reason to fire him just because he’s the majority owner of his family’s security agency which has multimillion peso contracts with the government. According to him, “government officials have the right to own a business” referring to Calida family’s Vigilant Investigative and Security Agency Inc. (VISAI). Records show and even Calida admits that he still owns 60 percent of this company which was awarded multi million peso contracts when he was already the Solicitor General.

Digong should know and should realize that the “Office of the Solicitor General constitutes the law office of the Government of the Philippines and by it shall be performed duties requiring the services of a law officer” (Section 1660 Administrative Code). The Solicitor General on the other hand is the “principal officer” of the Government and “shall have authority to act and represent the Government of the Philippines, its offices and agents in any official investigation proceeding, or matter requiring the services of a lawyer” (Section 1661 idem). So if a case or cases arise under the contracts between the Calida family’s security agency and the government, it cannot be presumed that Calida would faithfully and fully fulfill his duties as lawyer of the Government to enforce or protect and defend the government rights and obligations under the said contracts with his family’s security agency.

Clearly, there is a conflict of interest here and a violation of the Anti-Graft Law enumerating as one of the corrupt practices of public officers, the practice of “directly or indirectly having financial or pecuniary interest in any business, contract or transaction in connection with which he intervenes or takes part in his official capacity” (Section 3 (h), R A 3019). This is especially true in this case of Calida because the DOJ with which his family’s security agency has a multimillion peso contract has administrative supervision over the Office of the Solicitor General.

With more reason should Duterte fire Calida because the latter was the one who instituted the action that led to the ouster of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on the ground of failure to completely file her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth during certain years when she was already serving the government. According to Calida, such failure shows that Sereno was not qualified to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court because it is proof that she lacks integrity and probity which is allegedly one of the qualifications of a member of the judiciary.

Applying the same rule which he used in ousting Sereno, Calida should also resign because of lack of integrity as shown by his having, directly or indirectly, financial or pecuniary interest in any business, contract or transaction in connection with which he takes part in his official capacity. In fact Calida’s case even violates the Constitution which provides that public officers must at all times serve the people with utmost integrity and loyalty (Section 1, Article XI). In his case, his loyalty is divided between his position as Solicitor General and his family’s security agency business where he has majority interest.

So Calida should not wait for Duterte to dismiss him. He should resign immediately. Divesting himself of his interest in the family business will not be enough. A “whiff of corruption” still exists in those multimillion peso contracts that his family corporation has with the government. On the other hand, Duterte should not discriminate in firing government officials. If there is even just a “whiff of corruption” permeating around the officials and the offices of his government, he should fire them regardless of whether they are close to him or not. This is the only way his highly touted crusade against corruption will gain credibility. It will really convince people that the much needed change has come under his administration.

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