EDITORIAL - Indictment

The latest human rights report on the Philippines prepared by the US State Department did not say anything that Filipinos do not know. Corruption and inefficiency throughout the criminal justice system, according to the 2008 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, undermined human rights in the Philippines. “Personal ties and sometimes bribery resulted in impunity for some wealthy or influential offenders and contributed to widespread skepticism that the judicial process could ensure due process and equal justice,” the report said.

Instead of railing against the report and demanding proof from the State Department, the government should consider the report a challenge to do more in eliminating this scourge. The US government report comes on the heels of the debarment by the World Bank of seven contractors, three of them Philippine companies, for collusion in rigging the bid for a WB-funded road project. The State Department report was also released as the US Millennium Challenge Corp. is considering the Philippines’ application for “compact” status that would qualify the country for additional aid.

The Supreme Court, which has disciplinary powers over members of the judiciary, conceded that the pace of Philippine justice is slow and said reforms are being undertaken, but the court did not comment on corruption. The US report took note of steps undertaken by the SC to clean up the judiciary, including the dismissal of a Court of Appeals justice and lighter punishment for four others in connection with a bribery case last year. Recently the SC fined one of its retired justices P500,000 and permanently barred him from holding public office for leaking a decision of the tribunal in a citizenship dispute.

But corruption has been so rampant in the criminal justice system that Filipinos long ago coined terms for crooks: hoodlums in robes and “fix-cals.” Their activities not only undermine human rights but also discourage investments and hamper efforts to promote good governance. Even foreign governments are taking notice. And while corruption is not unique to the Philippines, each country is measured by its success in confronting the problem. The latest indictment of the Philippines should lead to a greater effort to clean up the country’s criminal justice system.