By Erika Mae P. Sinaking
THE ACQUITTAL last week of high-profile officials in large-scale graft cases poses a familiar risk that newly lodged corruption complaints, including those over multibillion-peso flood control anomalies, could end up the same, political analysts said.
“It’s a farcical decision and it gives us a clue to what will happen to the flood control mess if we do not change the system,” David Michael M. San Juan, De La Salle University professor and convener of Professionals for a Progressive Economy, told BusinessWorld in a Facebook Messenger chat.
“Current officials will file cases against both big fish and small fry to show they are doing something, but the pace will be slow,” he added.
The Sandiganbayan Special Third Division on Friday cleared Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, his former chief of staff Jessica Lucila G. Reyes and businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, along with several others, of 15 counts of graft over the alleged misuse of P172 million in the former senator’s priority development assistance fund (PDAF) from 2007 to 2009.
In its 192-page decision, the anti-graft court said the prosecution had failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, ruling that the evidence “did not pass the test of moral certainty.” The justices stressed that “not every alleged irregular act of a public officer constitutes a violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.”
The court further noted that in the absence of concrete and credible proof that the accused public officers and employees actually received cash intended as kickbacks or commissions, a graft violation could not be established.
Fifteen others, including officials from the Department of Budget and Management and the Technology Resource Center, were also acquitted.
“After years of trial and public fatigue, everyone will be acquitted, though some will be ordered to return money,” Mr. San Juan said.
In a statement last week, House Deputy Minority Leader and Party-list Rep. Leila M. de Lima said the acquittal highlighted the difficulty of sustaining accountability amid judicial delays.
“We started fresh and strong on the evidence when we filed the PDAF cases, strong enough to deny Enrile and Reyes bail,” she said. “The problem is the slow wheels of justice, with the accused relying on the public’s short memory.”
“If this is what will happen to the flood control project cases, good luck to us. Faith in our justice system is difficult to sustain if the courts apply a different kind of justice to privileged offenders,” added Ms. de Lima, who as Justice secretary led the indictment of Mr. Enrile and the others in 2013.
Jalton Garces Taguibao, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, said transparency should be applied consistently in both high-profile and underreported cases. “Transparency is not only the yoke of the public, but the burden of government,” he said in an e-mailed reply to questions. “Within what is allowed by law, the Philippine government must also proactively demonstrate its sincerity in promoting transparency, especially when it comes to matters related to its offices and the public officials, elected or appointed, who occupy positions of authority and trust.”
He added that vigilance and rigor in inquiry should be consistently applied “if all of us are truly serious about exacting accountability.”
The Philippines’ flood control scandal involves allegations of ghost projects, inflated contracts, and substandard infrastructure in projects worth billions of pesos, implicating public officials and contractors in widespread corruption.
The Marcos administration has launched multiple investigations and vowed to reform the bureaucracy to restore public trust in government institutions.