On Sec. Remulla’s decision

The dust has settled on the call for Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla to resign on the back of the drug bust of his son. In the end, Sec. Remulla elected to hang on to his job despite grounds for conflict of interest and delicadeza.

President Marcos’ reaction was not what we expected. The Chief Executive said that the calls for Sec. Remulla resignation are baseless since he has not misbehaved nor erred in his job. His comments contradicted the high standards of professionalism and moral standing he imposed when he first selected his cabinet.

Job performance, in this instance, is beside the point. This is all about decency and upholding the reputation of the justice system.

The presence (or absence) of conflict of interest on Sec. Remulla’s part is hard to pinpoint. While I can believe that the secretary will preclude himself from the legal proceedings of his son’s case, the sheer gravitas of his office compels both the courts and law enforcement agencies to treat the son with cotton gloves. And here lies the conflict. We’ve already witnessed the special treatment when the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency issued blurred mug shots of the son for media releases. Mug shots have never been concealed from the public before. Not even former presidents and senators were spared.

As we are painfully aware, the double standards in law enforcement is among the reasons why our justice system is deemed deeply flawed. The suspicion of special treatment of Sec. Remulla’s son only adds more shade to the already tarnished reputation of the justice system.

As it stands, the Philippines is already ranked at an abysmal 97th place out of 139 countries in as far as adherence of the Rule of Law is concerned. Among the 15 Asian countries evaluated, the Philippines is at 13th place, only ahead of Myanmar and Cambodia.

The rightness or wrongness of Sec. Remulla’s decision is a gray area that can be argued in an academic, legal and moral point of view. It is an argument that can go on forever. Certainly, I am not in the position to declare his actions right or wrong. But as a citizen and stakeholder of the Marcos administration, I maintain my own opinion on the matter.

I agree with my colleague in this paper, Federico Pascual, that Sec. Remulla has no obligation to continue serving as justice secretary. His real obligation is to support and defend his son. The fact that he chose his position over familial interest is disconcerting, to say the least.

As for the President’s position, I admit, it was a let-down. While it is true that Sec. Remulla has not erred in carrying out his job, this is all academic in the grander scheme of things. Doing the right thing out of honor should have been the primary concern of the President. The President’s position on the matter tells me that he holds his executives to a less-than-acceptable moral standard. It tells me that in this administration, shamelessness and impudence is tolerated. Sayang… I was already beginning to think that PBBM was out to prove the world wrong and restore professionalism and morality back to public service.

Some senators urged the public not to judge Sec. Remulla based on the sins of his son. Again, this demonstrates how shamelessness and impenitence is so deeply rooted among our leaders. This shamelessness is why convicted criminals have the face to run for high office.

The lack of scruples among our government leaders is the country’s downfall. It leads to poor and entitled leadership. Conversely, the high moral standards in countries like Japan have resulted in professional and ethics-driven governance. Quality of leadership is why Japan is Japan and why the Philippines is the Philippines.

*      *      *

Real public servants are those who work without fanfare or perks, yet impact thousands of lives.

Dr. Benjamin Campomanes is a nose and neck specialist who is also the executive vice president and chief medical officer of St. Lukes Medical Center. Recently, he was appointed the concurrent president of the St. Luke’s Medical Center Foundation.

Over lunch, Dr. Campomanes and I spoke about the many projects that the foundation has undertaken to help the underprivileged.

Last year, the foundation footed the medical bills of some 27,500 needy Filipinos. Diagnostics, surgeries and medicines for the sick and dying were provided within St. Luke’s Hospital itself at the cost of P220 million. The foundation has also undertaken nationwide medical outreach programs, including surgical missions, which benefitted 55,000 Filipinos.

In its quest to develop the next generation of medical practitioners, the foundation provided scholarships to 41 deserving medical students at the cost of P13 million. It also financed research and development work worth P42 million.

Under Dr. Campomanes’ leadership, the foundation will soon embark to train our barangay health care workers. As we all know, health care centers were built to provide diagnostic, trauma and emergency response at the barangay level. Problem is, many of those who man the health care centers fall short in skills. Dr. Campomanes’ foundation will fill this skills gap. Instructional training modules will be created to guide health care workers in various first-response situations. This will be augmented by face-to-face seminars. The idea is to impart critical knowledge to those that serve the greater majority, especially in far flung barangays.

St. Luke’s Foundation is highly organized and professionally managed. It has the skills, logistical reach and network to make an impact in the national health care sphere. Although the foundation receives grants from its parent corporation, its resources are never enough. It can do more if it had more. Those who wish to learn about the foundation’s programs and get involved in their projects can contact Leia Regala Teodoro at [email protected].

*      *      *

Email: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aj_masigan