|
Tanodbayan
Marcelo's Resignation a Setback to Anti-Corruption Effort
(photos
courtesy of http://www.abs-cbnnews.com)
We
at the Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN) are saddened
by the sudden resignation of Tanodbayan Simeon Marcelo for health
reasons. First, we extend our prayers and wishes of well being to
Tanodbayan Marcelo. Given the vigor to execute his job and his strong
commitment to battling corruption coupled with the serious lack
of resources of his office, it is no surprise that Tanodbayan Marcelo's
health has suffered. He has certainly given his job more than most
would, putting in long hours over and beyond the call of duty. Unfortunately
he is not super-human. We pray that his resignation will allow him
to recover to full health.
TAN and its various members that have worked closely with Tanodbayan
Marcelo can attest to the hard work, dedication, professionalism
and integrity with which he executed his job and his absence will
be sorely missed. He has set the standard by which we will judge
any successor. And the bar has been set very high. His efforts to
reach out to and involve civil society in the anti-corruption was
unprecedented and yielded widespread support and modest success.
In these efforts, the Tanodbayan has worked closely with civil society
on projects such as:
-
The
establishment of a Procurement Complaints Handling Mechanism
that will ensure corrective action on reports submitted to the
Office of the Ombudsman involving irregularities on public procurement
activities;
-
The
formal adoption of Integrity Development Reviews that
will help institute systems reforms in government offices to
curb and prevent corrupt activities;
-
The
conduct of Lifestyle Checks/Investigations and prosecutorial
action against erring public officials; and
-
The
launching of an Aggressive (Values Formation) Campaign
to broaden the base of support for anti-corruption work.
Moreover,
Tanodbayan Marcelo has worked to strengthen the capability of the
Ombudsman workforce and maximize its limited resources and manpower.
With his incessant advocacy and the credibility that he brings to
his office, he successfully lobbied for an increase in the budget
of the Office of the Ombudsman in 2005 to allow for an additional
200 field investigators from a low, demoralized and overworked 88.
Also, the prosecutorial force has increased from 37 when he took
over, to 58 in March 2005, with another 48 prosecutors expected
due to a budget increase granted by Congress.
Marcelo's
determination to fight corruption has also gained attention from
the international community. This attention was translated into
concrete funding support for many of the activities that the Ombudsman
had lined up. Sharing Tanodbayan Marcelo's agenda on anti-corruption,
donor institutions - United States Agency for International Development
(USAID), European Commission (EC), World Bank-ASEM (WB-ASEM), United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - collectively have donated
as much as $4.8 million in support of the Ombudsman's programs.
Tanodbayan
Marcelo also saw beyond today's conditions and envisioned more permanent
reforms in government. He sought legislative allies and pushed for
reforms that will help nourish the seeds planted by the Office of
the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman's legislative advocacies include the
bills on Whistleblower's Protection, Increasing the Number of Sandiganbayan
Divisions, Streamlining Jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan, and Exemption
from the Bank Secrecy Act Involving Graft and Corruption Cases.
With
the exemplary leadership and dedication shown by Tanodbayan Marcelo,
his resignation is definitely a setback to the anti-corruption effort.
We call on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to appoint a successor
of equal dedication, professionalism, integrity and independence.
Any less would be an injustice to all the positive reforms that
Simeon Marcelo has introduced in his office. And while he has capable
lieutenants and a credible team in place, leadership is key. We
also call on the executive and legislature to allocate more resources
to the Office of the Ombudsman so that we do not risk the health
of the next Tanodbayan. He or she should not have to work 16 to
20 hour days, 6-7 days a week in order to be effective. Lastly,
we call on the legislature to seriously consider the legislative
agenda of Tanodbayan Marcelo.
Much has been accomplished by Simeon Marcelo in his abbreviated
term as the Tanodbayan. We pray that his reforms and good work will
be continued to give continuing credibility to the anti-corruption
effort. Otherwise his work and the work of all the reform-minded
in the Office of the Ombudsman will have been in vain.
We thank Simeon Marcelo for his hard work and dedication to his
job and for showing us yet another example of what it means to be
a public servant.
October
12, 2005
|
