Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno pressed the judiciary to hasten the resolution of cases involving graft and corruption, as he expressed full support for mechanisms that would fast-track accountability and ensure convictions are enforced.
During the plenary deliberations on the proposed 2026 budget for the judiciary, he pressed Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, sponsor of the judiciary’s budget, for updates on efforts to address long-standing delays in corruption cases.
“May I know what the courts, the judiciary…is planning as far as fast-tracking corruption cases? We know that this is now very much part of our national conversation and we want these cases to be resolved as quickly as possible,” Diokno said
Diokno’s remarks come amid growing public outrage over anomalous infrastructure programs—particularly in flood control projects, involving allegations of overpricing, substandard implementation, and ghost projects. These issues have heightened calls for reform, especially in flood-prone areas that remain vulnerable despite repeated budget allocations for disaster mitigation.
“The longer a corruption case takes, the harder it is to hold the persons involved accountable. And we want to support, on the part of the Congress, any mechanisms that could be put in place to fast-track corruption cases,” he added.
Rodriguez, for his part, said the Sandiganbayan is now drafting new rules to shorten the trial for corruption cases to just 120 days.
“We’ll furnish our distinguished colleague once the Sandiganbayan promulgates the new rules, especially on the issues of corruption, on the flood control allegations that we have in the present time,” Rodriguez said.
