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WHO IS WATCHING WHO?
ONE WOMAN'S FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
By DIANA ST. JAMES
Photography by EDMUNDO L. SANTIAGO
MERCEDITAS Gutierrez was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the first female Ombudsman on December 1, 2005. Her appointment was questioned by the media because she was the classmate of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo and good friends with the First Family.
The lady Ombudsman has since been involved in the investigation of controversial cases, most recent of which are the corruption charges leveled against certain officials handling the case of the Alabang Boys.
At a recent Bulong Pulungan media forum at the Sofitel, Gutierrez answered questions about the mandate of her office, Ombudsman procedures, and her performance. Excerpts:
MOD: What is really the mandate of the Ombudsman?
Ombudsman Ma. Merceditas N. Gutierrez: Our mandate is basically to combat corruption in our country.But in its totality it is more than that. A big chunk of our time is devoted to investigating complaints against government officials who are charged with violating laws related to graft and corruption, such as the anti-graft law and the code of ethics for government personnel.
Where do you usually get your leads?
We get our leads usually from citizens who are affected by the alleged corrupt actions of government officials and employees, who may or may not be in connivance with some private individuals. Sometimes we get our leads from advocacy groups, and sometimes from the media. Complaints sent to us come either signed or unsigned by their senders.
How many cases have you handled since you took your post?
When I assumed office, I inherited about 21,000 unresolved cases. Of these, we have already disposed more than 16,000.
Who are the officials involved in those cases you investigated? Have you caught ‘big fishes’?
Oh, there are governors, mayors, even cabinet secretaries, assistant secretaries, and bureau directors.
What usually is the procedure of investigation?
The investigation has two stages. Once our office receives corruption-related complaints or reports, the Ombudsman Field Investigation Office (FIO) investigates them. It assigns field personnel who will conduct fact-finding investigations, typically without the participation or even knowledge of the persons complained against. If these personnel-they are usually a team-verify the truth of the accusations and gather enough evidence, we move on to the next step. That step is the filing, within our office still, of formal criminal or administrative charges-or both-against the persons complained against, who now become respondents in a formal preliminary investigation conducted in accord with due process.
This is the stage where the respondents may formally refute the charges leveled against them. This is also the stage where at its inception we decide whether or not to temporarily suspend a respondent government official, to prevent him from cowing witnesses or messing up with the evidence. Now if this second stage, the formal preliminary investigation, results in a finding of probable cause, which means that the respondents are ‘probably guilty’ of the charges, we then file the appropriate case or cases in court.
At the Sandiganbayan?
If the respondents are high-ranking officials, that is, their salary grade is 27 and above, we file the case with the Sandiganbayan, popularly known as the graft court. If the respondents are not high-ranking, that is, their salary grade is below 27, the case against them is filed with the regular courts.
You are now investigating the officials involved in the case of the Alabang Boys. How is the investigation going along?
Yes, we are making our own investigation.
What are the top corrupt government agencies?
We can only tell you what our own statistics indicate are the agencies whose officials and personnel are frequently the subjects of corruption complaints. The top 12-not necessarily in this order-are: Local Government Units (LGUs), Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Philippine National Police (PNP), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Education (DepEd), Bureau of Customs (BOC), Department of Agrarian Reforms (DAR), Water Districts, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and Department of Justice (DOJ).
What about the officials in the Office of the Ombudsman? Who watches them to make sure they are not being corrupt themselves?
We have an Internal Affairs Board. We have entrapment procedures to catch those violating the law within our own ranks. Last year, two employees were dismissed after entrapment and investigation.
How come individuals who are not corrupt end up being corrupt once they join government?
Not necessarily. But where it is true, it may be because there are pressures unique to government service which are not present in the private sector. But please remember that corruption in the public sector often involves private individuals, like suppliers and contractors. Corruption is not found in the public sector alone.
It may interest our people to know that we at the Office of the Ombudsman are also actively engaged in the promotion of a culture of integrity. Our office and DepED have jointly developed teaching manuals used in public schools. These manuals, called Teaching Exemplars, are aimed at developing positive values such as honesty, hard work, living within one’s means, and simple but principled living.
Your detractors question your credibility particularly because you are good friends with the First Gentleman.
My relation with friends, relatives, or anyone in either the private sector or government has nothing to do with the way I discharge the duties of my office. Like media people who take to their jobs responsibly, I, too, occasionally lose friends and the closeness of relatives. I ask our people, especially the media, to trust and pray for the Office of the Ombudsman. We abide by the Constitution which created our office, and we answer not to just one or few individuals, but to the entire nation and ultimately to God.
Comments? Email modeditor@gmail.com |
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