A test for the new ombudsman

THE SIXTH plunder case against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was lodged at the Office of the Ombudsman on July 26, hot on the heels of the appointment the day before of a new ombudsman, retired Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales.

The case was not filed by the government but by a group of citizens who accused her and other officials of the Arroyo administration of alleged misuse of P325 million in intelligence funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. The complaint charged her and nine other former officials for plunder, malversation of public funds and violation of the anti-graft law. It is the first plunder case against Arroyo following the appointment of Carpio-Morales, which President Aquino announced as a highlight of his second State of the Nation Address on July 25.

The Aquino administration does not appear to have a direct hand in filing the case, which was filed by a group called Kilusang Makabayang Ekonomia, retired Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim (who staged a mutiny against then President Arroyo), and Risa Hontiveros of the party-list group Akbayan, but the appointment of Carpio-Morales was taken as a signal that a new era of a more independent ombudsman had begun.

With the new complaint, Arroyo has now established a record in the annals of the Philippine judicial system as the most sued Filipino president after her term. Five other plunder cases have been filed against her since she stepped down from the presidency in June 2010. The sixth case followed a barrage of disclosure in the media of several alleged instances of abuse in the disbursement of PCSO funds.

The filing of the case raised the issue of whether or not the Aquino administration has toned down the tempo of its anti-corruption campaign to clean up the government directed mainly at the vestiges of corrupt transactions that engulfed the preceding administration. The complainants said the complaint would test the independence of the new ombudsman after her predecessor, Merceditas Gutierrez, resigned after she was impeached by the House of Representatives for covering up corruption cases against the Arroyo government.

There is another important question arising from the sixth plunder case: How many more plunder cases does the administration need to nail down and convict the former president and send her to jail?

This springs from a number of related questions: What is the purpose of the administration in clearing the way for this barrage of criminal cases against Arroyo? Is the President obsessed with the idea of sending her to jail to make her as a model of the fate that awaits those who would attempt to plunder public wealth—a deterrent, so to speak? Does the President need the prosecution and conviction of past officials accused of corruption to prove he is clean as a whistle, in contrast to an administration tainted by corruption scandals?

In his Sona, the President said, “When the new ombudsman, former Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, takes office, we will have an honest-to-goodness anti-corruption office, not one that condones the corruption and abuses in government. I expect that this year, we will have filed our first major case against the corrupt and their accomplices. And these will be real cases, with strong evidence and clear testimonies, which will lead to the punishment of the guilty.”

In this portion of the speech, the President specified a target, an indication that the direction of his anti-corruption campaign is to prosecute his “first major case against the corrupt,” even though he did not name names. This means that he is shifting strategy by abandoning the carpet-bombing approach to demolish his targets.

One sector, the business community, whose support the President critically needs, lauded the appointment of Carpio-Morales. The Management Association of the Philippines, viewed the appointment with its own spin: “With this appointment, P-Noy once again demonstrated his strong resolve in his efforts to regain the public trust in public officials and in his quest for good governance. We believe that P-Noy is now clearly declaring war on graft and corruption. With Justice Carpio-Morales’ proven integrity, the government can finally use the Office of the Ombudsman as an agency at the forefront of the war against corruption in government.”

It is hoped that the businessmen did not mean that the Office of the Ombudsman has now become the weapon of a self-righteous President for prosecution under the rule of law, not for the persecution of those he has tagged as crooks and corrupt, often through vicious trial by publicity in the news media ahead of the filing of cases before judicial bodies.

Some of those who filed plunder complaints against Arroyo have indicated that the complaints would be a test of whether the ombudsman would be independent and would not act as a hatchet person, taking her cues from the administration.

The administration’s view of the function of the ombudsman was expressed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa. He said Malacañang expected her to bring back the rule of law. Before her appointment, he said, “we were talking and told her that the rule of law should prevail, that rules on evidence should be the focus. It’s not right that just because someone claims that this person is corrupt, we will prosecute that person automatically. Fairness and the rule of law should prevail.”

That norm will soon be tested. P-Noy’s problem comes when Carpio-Morales takes their injunction seriously. Let’s wait and see.