“The strongest political will to fight corruption by an honest president is needed”
OUT of compassion towards a former president who is confined in a solitary cell at Den Haag, courtesy of the ICC and PBbM, Alan Peter Cayetano proposed a Senate resolution seeking to place former president Duterte under “house arrest.”
House arrest this time is proposed to be within the confines of our embassy in the Netherlands, also in Den Haag. This would negate the apprehensions cited by the ICC prosecution panel that the former president may not appear for trial once he is given refuge elsewhere.
The Cayetano resolution appears welcome to many, although vociferously objected to by the anti-Duterte fringe.
While the compassion is well-received, our apprehension is that it might actually weigh against the former president’s pleading for an acceptable third country to host him in lieu of his ICC confinement.
One of the arguments raised against Duterte defense counsel Nicholas Kaufmann’s entered plea is that the former president still has enormous influence and residual powers in the Philippines.
Senate approval of the Cayetano resolution might just add mileage for the prosecution to seek denial of Kaufmann’s legal move.
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Repeating a consistently held advocacy, Panfilo Lacson who won another term in the Senate under the wings of the Alyansa, proposed lifting the bank secrecy law insofar as government officials and employees are concerned.
Absolute transparency by allowing free access to bank accounts by government investigators is proper provided only the right agencies, such as for the Ombudsman and the higher courts, or even military authorities in the case of generals and other military officers.
It should be accompanied by a well-defined Freedom of Information Act that would likewise ensure access to the sworn Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth of all public servants, something the soon to retire Ombudsman shielded from public glare.
There are many ways and means by which a determined national leadership and Congress can do to combat malfeasance and misfeasance in the performance of public duties by both elected and appointed officials.
Over and above good legislation that would plug loopholes for hidden wealth, the strongest political will to fight corruption by an honest president is needed.
Given the present Constitution and the political system it has engendered, manipulated as it has been for the last 38 years and counting by our traditional politicians with their legendary greed, looking for that kind of leader would require a purposive and determined crusade by all well-meaning sectors.
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Tahanan party-list representative Nathaniel Oducado is asking the HoR to investigate in aid of legislation the proliferation of online gaming, legal by PAGCOR permission and illegal by tolerance and collusion with government officials.
Instead of another HoR investigation, likely to be assigned by the Committee on Rules to another tri, quad or quinta-super committee for tele-novela purposes, let me repeat what this writer proposed last week in this space: for the president to declare the abolition of all online gaming in his forthcoming SONA.
Apologists for gambling, sanitized by labelling it as “responsible gaming” warn that outright abolition would just open the floodgates to illegal operations, simply echo the mistrust we have against government enforcement and implementation of laws.
How come they are able to do it in an even more openly democratic Taiwan, where only a legalized lottery system similar to our once-popular but now defunct sweepstakes by PCSO, is allowed?
While there indeed are illegal gambling operations here and there, strict enforcement has limited these to a minimum of hit-and-run occurrences.
Political will is key, and political will can only happen when a truly honest, visionary and decisive leadership is at the helm.
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Speaking of the 2025 SONA which will be preceded by a suddenly announced presidential visit to the White House, our exporters, particularly our semi-conductor supply chain are hoping the president can change the mind of Trump on the 20 pervent tariff.
Considering how puny our export volume to the US actually is, Trump might be convinced the loose change involved to his “great” economy can be begged off.
Then our president will have something to brag about in his SONA, courtesy of his visit to the “great white father,” Hopefully, some tender mercies.
