Remulla: Time to revisit 2016 plunder doctrine to catch ‘biggest syndicates’

MANILA — It is time for the Supreme Court (SC) to revisit the doctrine on plunder which, according to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Monday, has been working in favor of the biggest perpetrators.

In his first annual report, Remulla lamented the difficulty in going after the biggest syndicates following an SC decision penned by then Justice Lucas Bersamin.

The 2016 decision acquitted former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of plunder over the supposed misuse of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds.

Remulla noted that the decision read into the plunder law two requirements that were never written by Congress: a main plunderer must be named and the accused must be proven to have personally received or benefitted from the stolen money.

“The smarter the thief, the safer he is. Pass the money through enough dummies, middlemen, and shell companies, and no one can be shown to have touched it,” Remulla said.

“Ang batas laban sa pandarambong ay ginawa para panagutin ang mga nagnanakaw ng bilyon-bilyon. Pero sa doktrinang ito, ang pinakamalaking sindikato ang pinakamahirap mahuli. Hindi po iyan hustisya. Pananggalang po iyan,” Remulla said.

He said the flood control scandal is “exactly that kind of scheme.”

“Many hands, many layers of contractors, and money moving through accounts that do not carry the names of those who profited,” the official said.

Remulla stressed that they are expecting the courts to be “impartial, independent, and attuned to the times” just like what the Constitution asks.

Remulla reported that the anti-graft body has filed 39 cases over alleged irregularities in flood control projects. Of which, 35 were lodged in the Sandiganbayan and four in regional trial courts.

Fifty-two individuals are facing cases including Senator Jinggoy Estrada, former Senator Ramon Revilla Jr., former House speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, and former congressman Zaldy Co.

He stressed that P100 billion was paid for non-existent flood control projects.

“The ghost projects alone are roughly 18 times the pork barrel scam,” the Ombudsman said.

Meanwhile, Remulla emphasized that his office has granted 1,770 requests for Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

Easing access to government officials’ SALN was one of Remulla’s actions when he assumed the office.

“For years, the public was told to ask the official’s permission before seeing what an official owned. We ended that,” Remulla said.

“Ang yaman ng isang lingkod-bayan ay hindi pribadong usapin. Kapag pera ng bayan ang pinag-uusapan, may karapatan ang bayan na malaman,” he added.

Remulla reiterated his office’s plan to create an Investment Ombudsman, a dedicated channel where investors can report any government official who demands a bribe, sits on a permit, or abuses regulatory power.

The anti-graft official also said they will halt “regulatory capture,” which “happens when the agency meant to police an industry ends up serving the very companies it is supposed to regulate.”

Remulla pointed out that corruption does not only steal from the treasury but from the economy as well.

“Kapag nawala ang lagay, bababa ang gastos. Kapag bumaba ang gastos, bababa ang presyo, dadami ang negosyo, at dadami ang trabaho. Iyan ang tunay na kahulugan ng pagbangon ng ekonomiya para sa ordinaryong Pilipino: mas magaan na bayarin, mas murang bilihin, at mas maraming hanapbuhay,” Remulla said.

In 2027, the Ombudsman will hold a Philippine Regulatory Summit in which regulators from all sectors will convene to “map the gaps where no one regulates and the overlaps where too many do.”