The Independent Commission for Infrastructure has asked the Ombudsman to file charges against four current or former lawmakers, one official of the Department of Public Works and Highways, and a commissioner of the Commission on Audit.
ICI Chairman, former Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes, narrated the practice of collusion among government officials and contractors so that they could corner 25 percent to 30 percent of the money allocated for the project.
The recommendations were based on several hearings that have been conducted by the ICI since its creation in September. The ICI, created under Executive Order 94, is tasked to investigate, receive evidence and evaluate reports, as well as recommend the filing of appropriate criminal, civil and administrative cases.
Despite the hearings and the preliminary findings and recommendations, however, some sectors have expressed low confidence in the pace of the ICI’s action against individuals linked to the flood control mess. There are names that have not been included among those recommended for prosecution.
The ICI, with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, recently visited the newly constructed jail facilities in Payatas, Quezon City. The DPWH also warned that some of the more prominent names linked to the mess will likely be in jail for the Christmas holidays. But at this point, all the people have are these assurances. There have been no arrests and the list of those recommended charged appears lacking, at best.
We share our nation’s outrage at the systemic plunder of taxpayer’s funds for supposed flood-control projects. We have the same intense desire for making officials accountable for their corrupt acts. Indeed we should hold them up as an example that crime does not pay. Unfortunately, the search for truth could degenerate into cries of persecution and then finger-pointing, with the parties insisting on their innocence and naming others who they say are the really guilty ones.
The overwhelming noise threatens to lump everything together under the same category, confusing and eventually desensitizing the public. When that happens, the distinction between the honest and the corrupt gets lost, and there is an erosion of confidence in the whole government, even in the institutions that are tasked to investigate and to prosecute.
Even at the height of our indignation, we should be able to discern that sweeping words and hasty actions could have disastrous consequences in the long term. This is especially true if the resulting complaints are founded based on emotional outbursts and innuendoes instead of established and verifiable facts. Such cases would eventually fall apart after the initial attention, and thus would be a disservice to the people who deserve to know the truth and punish the guilty.
Corruption has been a long-festering evil in our country, and it has been around for decades under evolving names, means, and forms. Solutions will not come fast, and we must be ready for a protracted battle. Let us fight it wisely, decisively and steadily so we would never run out of steam.
