PRESIDENT Duterte might appear serious in addressing corruption in the government, but an expert argued the administration still has a long way to go in its anticorruption crusade.
Ateneo School of Government Dean Ronald U. Mendoza said the President’s anticorruption strategy is “personality-focused and less oriented toward building better governance systems”.
He added that Executive Order (EO) 2, which establishes a portal allowing citizens to look into government documents, seems to contradict transparency policies on the ground.
“Notwithstanding EO 2 opening the door for more freedom of information, it is not clear to what extent the administration really supports more transparent governance as a model of reform. Recently, for instance, the PNP [Philippine National Police] cut media access to spot
reports on killings related to the government’s controversial antidrugs campaign,” Mendoza told the BusinessMirror.
Mendoza was referring to the PNP’s policy restricting reporters from accessing police reports, a move that coincided with the war on drugs, which has reportedly claimed thousands of lives in police operations and vigilante-style killings.
“An open and transparent governance model is also underpinned by strong data with high integrity,” Mendoza explained.
Duterte has fired government officials, including a Cabinet secretary, on allegations of corruption and involvement in anomalies.
Former Interior Secretary Ismael D. Sueno, for one, was removed from the Cabinet in April for purportedly entering into a dubious foreign loan agreement for the purchase of Rosenbauer fire trucks.
In defense, Sueno said the purchase of the fire trucks was perfected into contract by the previous administration and he is only completing the terms of the deal. The government went on to purchase the fire trucks.
The President also sacked former Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) Chairman Benjamin P. Reyes for apparently contradicting the administration’s claim on the number of drug users in the Philippines.
The DDB claimed there are about 1.8 million drug users in the Philippines, well below the 4-million count of Duterte.
“[The] chief of the DDB was fired for releasing official data based on tried and tested scientific procedures, because these data contradicted what the President thought was a much higher number of drug addicts in the country. This act may have a chilling effect on government bureaucrats reporting data that may not be favorable to ongoing government policy and strategy,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza added that “this does not bode well for accountability”, as no one knows where the Chief Executive got his numbers. He said it is even more confusing that Foreign Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano in September reported in the United Nations General Assembly there were 7 million drug users in the Philippines, casting doubts on the success rate of the war on drugs.
“Anticorruption under the Duterte administration seems to be anchored on fear of the President,” Mendoza said.
If Duterte intends to address corruption, the Ateneo dean urged him to build around “lasting reforms”, instead of attacking government officials and removing them in office without due diligence.
“The concentration of power in the hands of some officials—including the police under the antidrugs campaign—further raises the risk of abuse. Power with high discretion on how to use it, coupled with little accountability, almost always opens the door to even more corruption,” Mendoza said.
The President last Wednesday issued Executive Order 43 creating the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission. The commission is responsible for assisting the Chief Executive in investigating presidential appointees allegedly involved in graft and corrupt practices. It covers presidential appointees inside and outside the Executive branch, including high-ranking military and police officers.