EDITORIAL - Inordinate delay

The case was filed in court by the Office of the Ombudsman way back in 1993 and involved a relatively small amount compared to the hundreds of millions certain lawmakers are accused of pocketing. Still, it took the Sandiganbayan 23 years to resolve the graft case filed against a former state university president.

Santiago Labanen was sentenced to 18 years for graft in connection with constructions and renovations undertaken at the Abra State Institute of Science and Technology plus the purchase of a used vehicle worth P85,000 when he was its president. Labanen need not worry; the case can still be appealed and may go all the way to the Supreme Court, where it may languish for another 23 years before final resolution.

The snail-paced adjudication has rendered toothless the nation’s tough laws against graft and corruption, breeding impunity and ensuring the persistence of the problem. The Office of the Ombudsman itself has dragged its feet on several cases, as the Sandiganbayan has pointed out in dismissing certain complaints in recent weeks.

In a resolution dated Jan. 9, the anti-graft court dismissed a nepotism case filed against Vice Mayor Timoteo Capoquian Jr. of Gamay, Northern Samar who appointed his sister to the board of the town’s water district in 2008 when he was the mayor. The Sandiganbayan noted the “inordinate” delay in the ombudsman’s investigation, which started in 2009 but with the court indictment made only in June last year.

The Sandiganbayan’s decision is just the latest in a growing string of dismissals by the anti-graft court due to similar delays on the part of the ombudsman. Among those cleared were former senator Lito Lapid, current Games and Amusements Board chairman Abraham Mitra and other defendants in the 2004 fertilizer scam; former Bataan governor Leonardo Roman for the construction of a mini theater in a state college; former environment undersecretary Mario Roño for unexplained travel expenses in 1999 and 2000, and former Local Water Utilities Administration head Lorenzo Jamora for a water supply project in Nueva Ecija.

The ombudsman, a constitutional body, and the Sandiganbayan are beyond the control of the executive. But President Duterte, who often vows that his government will be clean and has promised to be tough on corruption, has the power to boost the capability of the Office of the Ombudsman. The office needs more funds to hire additional personnel to reduce its case backlog. The President should not hesitate to provide the weapons for the battle against graft. This must be matched by improved performance by anti-graft prosecutors and the judiciary.