The Mind of Rody Duterte DEATH PENALTY, VALUES EDUCATION KEY TO STOP CORRUPTION - DUTERTE By Manny Pinol Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte believes that death penalty for big-time plunderers and the re-introduction of values education in Philippine schools are the sure-fire formula to end the massive theft of government funds and the culture of corruption in the country today. Those who find joy in stealing peoples money should be put to death by lethal injection because the theft of funds intended to improve the lives of the poor is worse than murder. This crime is in the level of a genocide because corruption kills the hope and dreams of children for a better future, the 69-year Duterte said. Duterte believes that the death penalty should be re-imposed to deal with very serious crimes like rape, murder and plunder. Philippine laws currently define plunder as a crime involving the misuse and theft of government funds P50-M and higher. At least three incumbent Senators - Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Bong Revilla along with suspected pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles are now detained because of plunder. Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has also been charged with plunder and is now under hospital arrest. Even incumbent Vice President Jejomar Binay is embroiled in a corruption controversy now and has been charged with plunder before the Ombudsman. How many of the government officials charged with graft and corruption have actually been punished? How many of them served jail terms? How many of them beat the law and returned to politics again to continue committing a crime?, Duterte asked. A lawyer who served as public prosecutor in Davao City before he was appointed as Vice Mayor, Duterte believes that there are so many loopholes in the countrys legal system allowing many corrupt government officials and plunderers to go scot free. He said there must be fundamental changes in the countrys laws against corruption so that the prosecution would be faster. Today, he said, it takes years, stretching to even a decade, before graft and corruption cases are resolved. A stronger and tougher action against corruption should be implemented. He said that if a citizens arrest could be invoked against those flagrantly committing a crime, the same should also be implemented in instances of corruption. Duterte said, a special body which could be called the Anti-Corruption police could be organized and placed under the Office of the Ombudsman so that requests for assistance from citizens who are victims of or witnesses to corruption could be attended to immediately. If we have a 911 for Emergency, the citizens should also have an instant access to assistance in incidents of flagrant acts of corruption and this could involve dialing a number similar to 911 after which the Anti-Corruption Police would respond right away and make arrests, he said. Today, he said that if an official would be charged with corruption, the complainant will have to go through a tedious process, hire a lawyer, spend his own money and wait for many years before the case could even be resolved at the level of the Ombudsman. The Office of the Ombudsman is a Constitutional body formed to receive and investigate complaints involving corruption and misdeeds by government officials. After finding probable cause, the Ombudsman then files the case before the Sandiganbayan which determines the guilt of the accused. Under the present set up, it would take years before the case could be resolved by the Ombudsman and many more years before the Sandiganbayan could render justice. The treatment of those who give bribes and corrupt government officials must be equally tough, Duterte said. In Davao City recently, businessmen who applied for the renewal of their business permits were warned that their papers would be thrown to the wastebasket if they attempted to bribe city employees. The employees were warned of automatic termination. Another institutional amendment to be implemented to reduce the opportunities to steal government money is to make sure that no government money and public funds should be left in the hands of political officials for discretionary disbursement, Duterte said. When public officials have access to millions and billions of public funds which they could disburse at their own behest, the instances of corruption would be greater, Duterte said. Duterte cited the abuse in the disbursement of the pork barrel funds where congressmen and senators who participated in the prosecution of former Chief Justice Renato Corona received hundreds of millions in pork barrel. One congressman received P300-M while a senator was given P900-M, he said. But alongside the effort to punish those who steal , we should mold the mind of the young Filipinos but re-introducing lessons on morals, decency and ethics in both public and private schools, Duterte said. Duterte recalled that during his elementary and high school days, a subject on Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) was included in the educational curriculum for both public and private schools. Inside our classrooms before, we would read such values quotes as Honesty is the Best Policy, Do not do unto others what you wish others would not do unto you and Cleanliness is Next to Godliness, Duterte said. Duterte also rues the fact that today, songs and pledges to strengthen young childrens nationalism have been totally ignored. Who among the children now could even recite Panatang Makabayan or sing Ang Bayan Ko? I dont think the children of today even heard of these, Duterte said. Duterte said that the culture of corruption has twisted the moral fabric of the Filipino society. We are in a very scary situation because people now say that it is okey for government officials to steal government funds for as long as they share part of it with the poor, he said. Calling this lamentable, Duterte said that if corruption in both government and the private sector is not addressed, the Filipinos of the next generation will live in a country where nothing moves unless a bribe or grease money is given. He said that the campaign against corruption could take one generation but that it must be done by the next President. If we do not address and curtail corruption in government now, this country will go to the dogs, Duterte said. (Writers note: A longer and more detailed version of this article will appear in the book The heart and mind of Rody Duterte coming out March 2015.)
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 05:52:36 +0000
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