“The Filipino people are the real victims whenever corrupt public officials steal money,” said Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales today.
To politicians with cases before her office, Morales said, “Stop giving the public the impression that you are being politically persecuted. It is the other way around. Every peso lost to corruption means less free medicines for indigent patients in government hospitals and health centers, less textbooks and classrooms in public schools, and less food packs for victims of natural disasters.”
Political harassment has become the standard “public relations” defense of politicians charged with graft and corruption or plunder, according to the Ombudsman. This will not stand in court, and the public is not gullible to believe their claim, she said.
Morales said that her office does not distinguish whether it is election period or look at the party affiliation of the politician allegedly involved in corruption. “We decide only on the basis of evidence. After careful and objective evaluation of the evidence gathered, we immediately file cases, if warranted. We are oblivious of the timing of the filing of cases in courts, just as corrupt public officials steal public money every time an opportunity comes.”
“Fighting corruption is a 24/7 job. We file plunder or graft cases as soon as we are done with a thorough and impartial investigation. The Office will not be deterred by propaganda and threats in doing our job. As I have said in the past, fighting corruption is the reason for my life,” said Morales.
Accused of “selective justice” by its detractors, the Office of the Ombudsman is indeed selective, Morales said. “Yes, we are selective because the Ombudsman’s charter (Republic Act No. 6770) mandates us to prioritize cases against high ranking government officials, complaints involving grave offenses, as well as complaints involving large sums of money or properties or those against big-time plunderers. We are selective because we dismiss cases when evidence is not sufficient. In some cases, we are even constrained to dismiss administrative cases against elected officials because the abandonment of the condonation doctrine is prospective according to the 10 November 2015 decision of the Supreme Court.”
“We are pleased that the general public appreciates our efforts to end corruption,” Morales said. She cited the Bilang Pilipino SWS Mobile Survey conducted on 28 March 2016. More than half of respondents had “much trust” in the Office of the Ombudsman, giving the constitutional body a net trust rating of +49. SWS said the trust rating for the Office of the Ombudsman was “Very Good” (+50 to +69) in Balance Luzon (outside Metro Manila ) and the Visayas, while it was “Good” (+30 to +49) everywhere else.###