Press Release
A GLIMPSE OF HOPE
We laud the Ombudsman Visayas office for the filing of criminal and administrative complaints against Lapu-lapu City officials and other individuals in their alleged involvement in the computer scam as well as the filing of similar complaints involving top ranking DPWH-7 officials in the ASEAN security camera scam.
This encouraging development results from a convergence of factors: the contribution of ordinary citizens who have acted both as whistleblowers and even researchers as well as the selfless dedication of government workers tasked with the investigation. The work involved leading to the filing of complaints required painstaking attention to evidence that would stand up before the Sandiganbayan. This is no easy task, one that demands careful preliminary investigation and a patience based on hope, not despair, by all, including the public.
We see an awakened citizenry and public servants disgusted with corruption. This comes like a breath of fresh air amidst the pollution of pervasive and systemic corruption. All is not lost.
A growing number of concerned and non partisan citizens are no longer just watching from the sidelines. Far too long we have tolerated corruption. Now we no longer take it sitting down. We realize that the payment for these ridiculously-priced personal computers and security cameras come from the sweat of our brows.
We expect the alleged perpetrators to respond to the complaint and not come out with diversionary tactics. We expect the wheels of justice to move, for the guilty to be punished and the innocent to be exonerated. We urge other concerned citizens and organizations to make their voices heard. Only by doing so can we defend our democracy from those who may want to short-circuit its processes.
Join the growing number of Cebuanos and Filipinos who are sick and tired of corruption, and will no longer be lulled into complacency by the political telenobela that has been going on for generations!
We are all part of the problem, but we can also be part of the solution. Together we can make a difference against corruption. Truly, with patience based on hope, a “people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:2).
(sgd)
FR. CARMELO O. DIOLA AND MR. DARYLL ESTRADA
Dilaab/Barug Pilipino
CHEAP JUSTICE
About 6 years ago, a popular president was removed from office on charges of plunder. The event heightened expectations that no one is above the law and that corruption in this country can be overcome through the rule of law. It also, sadly, polarized the country.
Volunteer lawyers collaborated with government prosecutors in building up a case that eventually won the day, despite legal giants defending the accused. We salute these prosecutors’ noble and courageous efforts. The landmark conviction by the Sandiganbayan last 12 September 2007 on the plunder case seemed to signal the turn of the tide in the crusade against corruption. Finally, we had a very “big fish.”
It seems this hope could become short-lived. A hasty Presidential pardon threatens to undo the gains in the anti-corruption and good governance work. While we respect President Gloria Arroyo’s prerogative in granting clemency, and while we recognize that justice must always be tempered with compassion, we question the wisdom of the pardon at this point in time.
First, it does not give the former President a chance to truly redeem his dignity and to restore broken relationships since the first step towards such restoration would have been to admit one’s guilt, express contrition, and ask for pardon. He has not done so on all counts.
Second, the hasty pardon sends a signal that government does not really care about anti-corruption and good governance. The signal is that if one is powerful, wealthy, and popular, one can get away with plunder. It also makes fools of all who worked so hard and who took risks to gather all the evidence and dismisses their work like they never mattered. It discourages whistleblowers and anti-corruption champions.
Third, it raises more questions and concerns than it answers or resolves. How do we deal with other convicts, why don’t they all get pardoned? How about the ordinary BIR clerk convicted of plunder and who remains in prison? How do we teach our children that crime does not pay in light of the indecent haste of the pardon? Will unity based on political expediency really unite the nation?
The hasty pardon betrays the spirit of EDSA. Small wonder our international ranking regarding graft and corruption has gone from bad to worst. We at Barug Pilipino, a nationwide network promoting a graft and corruption-intolerant Philippines, of the Dillab Movement call on all Filipinos not to give in to despair but rather to remain prayerful and vigilant. All is not lost, despite this temporary setback. Barug stands undeterred.
We are all part of the problem of graft and corruption. Let us become part of the solution.
The Barug Pilipino Working Group:
(sgd) ENGR ERNESTO ABOITIZ
(sgd) MS. GLADYS CENIZA
(sgd) MS. HEIDI MENDOZA
(sgd) MS. TERESA TEJERO
(sgd) FR. CARMELO O. DIOLA
(sgd) MS. ANBERN RODIS
(sgd) MR. DARYLL ESTRADA; AND
(sgd) MS. MA. CRISTITA LOPEZ.
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?
The parable of the Good Samaritan continues to be relevant. It starts with a fundamental question: Who is my neighbor? The question challenges us to go beyond the strict confines of our immediate family and groups in order to venture with open hearts and hands towards the larger society. Solidarity is another name for peace.
Pope Benedict XVI reminds us of this in his encyclical Deus Caritas Est: “Yet at the same time she (Church) cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice,” even as he describes the specific and distinct roles for Church and State. For the country to move towards wholeness, various sectors need to reach out to one another.
Several recent events in Cebu point in this direction. The signing of a MOA between the Mactan Island Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the Office of the Ombudsman recognizes the former as an official graft watch unit for the island of Mactan. Some businessmen are awakening to this aspect of their corporate social responsibility. A parallel challenge also arises for the private sector to use only one set of accounting books, a reality noted by the recent SWS survey on corruption.
The 5th batch of police officers Central Visayas started their “Values Leadership School,” a 21-day live-in seminar-workshop aimed at forming the PNP as a God-centered, family-based and service-oriented institution. This joint project between the PNP and more than ten Church-based groups and NGOs is a model for volunteerism and united front promoting the common good. Perhaps this has contributed to a highly improved perception of the PNP in Cebu based on the same survey.
A group of young professions called the “Young United Professionals (YUP) has established chapters in the cities of Cebu, Tagbilaran, Maasin and Bacolod. Their members commit themselves not to bribe, to resist extortion, and pay their taxes, among others. On Saturday 25 August, 11 Bisrock (“Bisaya rock”) groups will hold a concert at the Cebu Coliseum launching a CD album promoting 12 little things every Filipino can do to help our country. Who says the young have lost their idealism?
Several elected officials seek to implement good governance in collaboration with a Church-based movement. A Mass for Accountability Partnership on Good Governance” was celebrated last July 14 at the St. Joseph Parish in Mabolo with Ricardo Cardinal Vidal as the main celebrant and preacher. A mechanism for accountability is now being drawn up. This will include the assigning of observers to the Bids and Awards Committee to monitor government procurement and assist local government units and government line agencies in promoting good governance. In addition, the swift and decisive action of Chief Justice Ricardo Puno regarding the alleged marriage scam encourages various sectors to be vigilant.
We are all called to be Good Samaritans to one another, to a nation bruised by self-inflicted wounds of narrow self, family, and group interests. |