Legislative reforms needed to prosecute grafters, say US study

MANILA, Philippines—Legislative reforms to allow investigators to pierce bank secrecy rules and ease some wiretapping prohibitions may be needed to push Philippine anti-corruption efforts further, according to a study funded by the US government.

Revealing the results of the study in a forum on asset forfeiture and good governance on Friday, Catherine Hamlin, development and governance officer at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), also underscored the need for a “committed judiciary” in making the corrupt pay for their misdeeds.

“Because of the difficulty of acquiring evidence against officials that have acted corruptly, it may also be helpful for anticorruption institutions to open a dialog with Congress and the judiciary on the importance of providing corruption investigators special powers so that they can gather the evidence necessary for convictions,” Hamlin said in remarks at a forum hosted by the Presidential Commission on Good Government.

She said anti-corruption officials may press for the authority to “pierce bank secrecy provisions… to follow the money trail” and undertake “electronic recording of conversations” of undercover agents with corruption suspects.

A USAID-funded study conducted by the American Bar Association noted that PCGG cases of asset recovery against the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, his family and known associates have been pending in courts for as long as 20 years.

The study, which traced the status of 84 pending PCGG cases at the Office of the Ombudsman, the Sandiganbayan and the Supreme Court, found that pre-trial appeals filed by defendants against “little issues” have delayed trial.

Such was deemed reflective of the overall status of asset forfeiture in the country, a legal step that Hamlin said was critical in deterring corruption.

“The ability to seize ill-gotten assets is a fundamental tool for fighting corruption. The risk of criminal prosecution for corruption is not enough to deter corrupt behavior. Often individuals accused of corruption use their assets to defend themselves in the court of law,” Hamlin said at the forum on Friday.

She said asset forfeiture takes special importance for nations with limited state resources as such monies could be used to bolster anti-corruption efforts even more, and to fund public welfare programs.

Hamlin added: “Effective coordination between investigation and prosecution  offices is necessary for producing evidence and building strong cases. The commitment of the judiciary to hear forfeiture cases in a timely, consistent fashion is critical for ensuring prosecution.”