Fighting corruption in the government is an ideal that every president wants to inspire on the population. His success on his campaign promise, however, will depend on his consistency to apply the rule of law, without fear or favor.
Over three out of four Filipinos, or 76 percent, said in a December survey conducted by Pulse Asia that they approved of the current administration’s performance with regard to fighting corruption in government. The perception is that President Rodrigo Duterte is tough on graft, and his numerous statements on the matter seemed to have reinforced the message.
In a speech directed at government officials last month, President Duterte said, “if you are corrupt, I will fetch you using a helicopter to Manila and I will throw you out; I have done this before, why would I not do it again?”
A week ago he issued a similar threat, telling mayors from around the country that if they were corrupt, they should resign now or he would kill them.
Whether or not the President makes good on his threats to crack down on corruption will determine his ability to maintain his stellar approval ratings. The last administration also pledged to rid the government’s ranks of scalawags, but accusations that it selectively enforced the law against erring public officials fueled perceptions that it was not serious about eradicating graft in government.
For the most part, fear of the President has forced many unsavory characters in government to keep a low profile. Some have even chosen to quietly leave the civil service, especially after the President demanded the resignation of all officials appointed by his predecessor.
But some characters are tougher than others. Former Mining and Geosciences Bureau chief and later Department of Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary Leo Jasareno was one of the officials who supposedly submitted his resignation to the President in August 2016, but it appears his resignation was all form and no substance.
Energy Regulatory Commission chairman Jose Vicente Salazar, in contrast, was more decent. The ERC chief went on a month-long leave following suggestions he step down to give way to the investigation of corruption allegations raised by an employee who committed suicide as a result of it.
Jasareno’s supposed departure from the DENR was, it should be pointed out, welcomed by both anti-mining advocates and the mining industry, both of whom had no love lost for Jasareno.
AlyansaTigil Mina (ATM) National Coordinator Jaybee Garganera earlier called on DENR Secretary Gina Lopez “to investigate and hold accountable liable officials found to have abused their authorities or violated their mandates or engaged in corruption.” Among those tagged by ATM was Jasareno.
Jasareno is also not popular with the country’s mining companies. One mining firm sued him in a cased filed with the Office of the Ombudsman.
Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co., one of the oldest mining companies in the Philippines, charged Jasareno for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Lepanto accused Jasareno of bad faith and gross inexcusable negligence for announcing that Lepanto had been recommended for suspension by the DENR auditing team.
Lepanto claimed that contrary to the announcement, the audit team actually signed a report concluding that “the company substantially complied with the pertinent provisions of the environmental and mining laws, rules and regulations” and subsequently did not recommend a penalty.
Despite all the controversies hounding Jasareno, he continues to work at the DENR, although it is unclear in what capacity, since Lopez earlier announced that he had resigned.
Notwithstanding the pronouncement, Jasareno is still a fixture in the DENR, and is reportedly still involved in the DENR’s mining-related activities.
Jasareno’s presence at the DENR is highly irregular, given the absence of an appointment from Malacañang and the President’s clear marching orders to kick out officials tainted by corruption.
Jasareno has no business working at the DENR, and perhaps it’s time the President and his men make it their business to find out why.
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