Ex-Ombudsman Morales: Corruption must be fought, whatever the cost

Former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales has called on Filipinos to relentlessly fight corruption, saying that it is a duty that must be fulfilled at all cost.

Morales, speaking as a lecturer for the Jaime V. Ongpin Annual Memorial Lecture on Public Service on Wednesday, said corruption must be nipped in the bud considering that the practice of utang na loob (debt of gratitude) runs deep in the Filipino culture that people tend to govern based on relationships instead of merits.

A former associate justice of the Supreme Court, Morales said that in a democratic society, each citizen equally carries the responsibility of placing government action under the magnifying lens of scrutiny.

“The challenge is in the early detection of the personal and social connections. There should be a demand for a principled leadership which has competence, consistency, courage, compassion and conscience,” Morales said.

“Corruption has no room in our society. It is our duty to challenge it, whatever the cost may be. We have to assert and demand integrity and accountability from our public officials; that they adhere to the rule of law. After all, sovereignty resides in the people, and all government authority emanates from them,” Morales added.

At the same time, Morales said the citizenry should speak truth to power and help the Office of the Ombudsman—mandated to act promptly on complaints filed in any form or manner against officers or employees of the government, or of any subdivision, agency or instrumentality including government-owned or controlled corporations, and enforce their administrative, civil and criminal liability in every case where the evidence warrants—to stamp out corruption.

“Despite its vast powers, the Office of the Ombudsman cannot win the war against corruption alone. It needs the support of stakeholders, private sector, business sector, academe, media, civil society organizations. Only a collective and sustained effort will enable us to succeed in banishing corruption,” Morales said.

“Filipinos today are falling in a quandary because of distortions of truth, but there is wisdom in sobriety. We must heed the call for patriotic reason, lest we fall to cryptic treason. After all, truth is not measured by decibels,” she added.

Morales served as Ombudsman from 2011 to 2018 and as associate justice of the Supreme Court from 2002 to 2011.

It was during her tenure as Ombudsman when graft, plunder and other corruption-related charges were filed against then-Senators Bong Revilla Jr., Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile, among other government officials, in connection with the P10 billion pork barrel scam.

Revilla has since been acquitted of the charges while the cases against Estrada and Enrile are still being heard.

The pork barrel is the lawmakers’ discretionary fund under the national budget which is supposed to benefit the lawmakers’ respective constituents. The pork scam, however, allegedly transferred pork barrel funds to nongovernment entities allegedly owned by businesswoman Janet Napoles, with Napoles supposedly splitting kickbacks with lawmakers and her employees. — RSJ, GMA News