The hypocrisy of Satur Ocampo is in full view in his PhilSTAR piece today “Leonen impeachment junking a positive turn”. The Opposition makes it appear that Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen is being harassed and persecuted. He’s not. It just depends on who is behind the lynch mob. In the late Chief Justice Renato Corona’s case, he didn’t have a chance because no less than the President was behind it. You all know the sordid story behind this.
The principal author of Republic Act 6713 or the “Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees” is Rene Saguisag. It is clear in the implementing rules and regulations of the same law that every government official, career or appointed, has to file a Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) before April 30 of the succeeding calendar year.
Former Chief Justice Renato Corona whose violation of the law was at best an administrative matter was impeached. His was an act of omission or a discrepancy. In the case of Ma. Lourdes Sereno, she was removed through a Quo Warranto petition for the same offense as Leonen. If the Associate Justice was acting in good faith, all he needed to do was make public his SALNs to prove his innocence. Leonen didn’t do so because he didn’t file the SALNs as required when he was an employee of UP.
Believe it or not, most government departments and agencies aren’t strict in the enforcement of this requirement. It always gets lost in the wash. The same is true with tax returns. SALNs filed are mostly handwritten and very vague on the details. This is one reason why corruption persists in tbe bureaucracy. You don’t need to be a genius to figure out that most employees in government agencies and departments are all in on the rackets so no one dares to squeal on another. If you’re one of the very few who’s straight, you can be sure that you will be eased out if you make noise.
This is why if there is an earnest anti-corruption campaign undertaken, it’s safe to say that about 75% of government employees would be relieved of their posts. The leftist-militant groups claim they are fighting in behalf of the people for better governance. This is horseshit. Their minions in the bureaucracy are in on it as well. The same is true with their party-list groups which receive public funds for their representatives and offices.
The only way corruption can be stopped is automation. Technology is the solution. The whole of government should have a blockchain system in the back-end running the bureaucracy. The less human intervention, the less occurrence of corrupt acts and practices.
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