Some hope
Often slipping into remarks over recent sensational news headlines and social media posts on the grand larceny of flood control funds, the cynicism has become a mantra of hopelessness.
Daily TribuneOften slipping into remarks over recent sensational news headlines and social media posts on the grand larceny of flood control funds, the cynicism has become a mantra of hopelessness.
Common is the deep-seated cynicism that an easily distracted Filipino citizenry will soon lose interest if the flood control thieves aren’t quickly packed off to jail or their huge ill-gotten loot are not confiscated.
Often slipping into remarks over recent sensational news headlines and social media posts on the grand larceny of flood control funds, the cynicism has become a mantra of hopelessness.
Faced with such bleakness in our miserable culture of widespread corruption, we certainly will get nowhere trying to answer the familiar question: what is to be done?
Paradoxically, however, seriously pondering the question becomes a radical act of hope.
So much so that we can even be optimistic, have some hope, over the fact that some government agencies and institutions in recent days were unilaterally acting on the flood control scandals.
We can, of course, say these same agencies were probably acting in their own self-interest. They don’t want to be done in like the public works department.
But regardless of their motives, their recent actions nonetheless could be taken positively as small steps toward the greater demand for systemic government reforms.
Take, for instance, the usually opaque Bureau of Customs, perennially notorious for corruption.
Immediately after the Senate hearings on the flood control projects thievery, Customs took it upon itself to thoroughly check if the fleet of luxury cars paraded by the brazen Discaya couple were smuggled.
By the way, the stunning revelations in Congress are the serious things our lawmakers are doing by far. Their comical politicking in attempting to burn down the other chamber is only for entertainment.
At any rate, Customs agents immediately raided the Discaya compound and scrutinized the cars. They had never done that before.
Aside from the Discaya cars, Customs promises to also go after the luxury vehicles of others involved in the scandal, especially those reportedly owned by the fired DPWH officials.
And, the startling thing is that the agency’s leaders vowed to hold accountable their own people for whatever lapses.
Similarly, the tax collectors dramatically issued Letters of Authority (LoA) to the accused contractors present at a Senate hearing.
(An LoA is an official tax document allowing tax inspectors access to financial statements, audit reports, books of accounts, and other accounting records. Examination of these records determines tax liabilities and the contractors have 30 days to respond.)
Meantime, the Department of Justice quickly issued lookout bulletins for those involved and the Anti-Money Laundering Council moved to freeze the unexplained billion-peso deposits, some from casino gambling, of those named so far.
But while these developments can be taken positively, much more needs to be done by other agencies and institutions and even by the citizenry at large. Our legal institutions like the Supreme Court, for instance, need to do their share.
A few weeks ago, for example, a former Supreme Court justice proposed a way by which ordinary citizens and civic groups could directly sue government officials if state prosecutors fail to act on the flood projects thievery within 60 days.
Former justice Adolfo Azcunas said the SC on its own could consider revisiting the writ of qui tam, wherein a private person may sue on behalf of the government for violations — usually fraud — committed by companies and individuals, and later receive a share of the money recovered.