What happens when a public official is accused of corruption?
Well, if the officials involved had only filed their Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth properly, all they would have to do is present it to the investigators and then execute a bank waiver allowing the investigators to look into their bank accounts.
If SALN is more or less accurate and honest, the banks would then check and confirm whether any undeclared or ill-gotten wealth is found. And if the results are negative, the accused should be allowed to carry on with their job of being a public servant.
However, if the public official refuses to execute a bank waiver, then given our current system that has been rendered inutile by officials that have failed to empower such investigations, there really isn’t anything our government and its investigators can do about serious allegations of corruption.
Right now, it seems like there isn’t anything they can do because the same people who are supposed to protect public funds and interests first and foremost, have instead been protecting their ilk, so they make it extra difficult for the supposedly powerful government to investigate allegations of corruption, by being “public” officials only when it is convenient, but prioritizing their being private individuals when it comes to keeping their assets and bank accounts as secret as possible.
This need for scrutiny and to strip public officials of financial privacy should be unnecessary in an ideal world, however, because we live in a country that is among the furthest from that, as our leaders and supposed stewards have allowed corruption to become this bad, it is something that needs to be done if the Filipino people are going to have a chance at destroying this cancer that has been eating up our country from the inside.
Aside from those in government, whether elected, appointed, or career officials, the same scrutiny has become necessary for their family members, along with the people the government does business with, such as contractors and other “partners”.
That means everyone involved as far as public funds are concerned, has to be ready to be audited at the slightest hint of wrongdoing or corruption. Just to be able to quickly clear names, of course, which would be in the best interests of those who have not done anything wrong. Right?
It seems like such a simple solution to our country’s woes with corruption, but given the kind of people that we have deeply entrenched in government, who had all the time in the world to do the right thing, it would probably take a miracle for something like that to happen. It’s just like the anti-political dynasty law. The Constitution demanded it, way back in 1986, but it’s already 2025 and nothing has been done, as political dynasties have ironically flourished in the meantime. The thing about political dynasties and corruption is that they are parasites that share a symbiotic relationship.
The chances of the country getting an anti-dynasty law is the same as getting our lawmakers to enact a law that would make an enhanced SALN and the dreaded bank waiver more formidable weapons against corruption, which in this multiverse is unfortunately as close to zero as it gets, given the kind of people our voters somehow manage to consistently put inside the so-called House of Representatives.
If they were slapped with such ‘unfair’ working conditions, most current government officials would probably say that they would rather resign. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? If they were only capable of following up their talk with action, such threats would be heaven sent for the Philippines, so we can get a fresh restart and repopulate our government with people who have not been corrupted and are willing to give up their financial privacy while working in or with government, because they have nothing to hide anyway.
As tempting as it may sound, given the frustrations and hopelessness of a deeply corrupted system, we cannot just bomb our government to get a fresh start. However, if we are going to force a reboot, we will need an inside man. Are there still heroes who can force government officials to make public their SALNs and sign a proper bank waiver, instead of one that is just for show? A successful attempt at that would be the same as planting a bomb in Congress and all the other government institutions that are known for corruption such as the DPWH, Customs, and BIR, etc.
If you come to think of it, all this talk of corruption is just talk. Those involved in it are probably hoping that we will soon get tired of it, or be distracted by the next scandal, so they can carry on as before, maybe a little more cautiously, but that would be all.
Until our public officials do less talk and actually do something substantial in this losing fight against corruption, our country is doomed to be the milking cow of those in positions of power.*
