PGMA's Speech during the 14th Anniversary of the Office of the Ombudsman and the Inauguration of its new Building

PGMA's Speech during the 14th Anniversary of the Office of the Ombudsman and the Inauguration of its new Building

OMB Building, Agham Road, Quezon City (09 May 2002)

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, OMBUDSMAN DESIERTO. AND HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AS YOU END A VERY COLORFUL CAREER AS THE OMBUDSMAN OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES.

THE OTHER GREAT CEBUANO IN THIS HALL, CHIEF JUSTICE HILARIO DAVIDE; COMELEC CHAIRMAN FRED BENIPAYO; HUMAN RIGHTS CHAIR AURORA RECE„A;; MAY I ALSO GREET THE DEPUTIES IN THE OMBUDSMAN'S INSTITUTION -- MARGARITO GERVACIO, OUR EMCEE; JESUS GUERRERO; PRIMO MIRO; ANTONIO VALENZUELA; ORLANDO CASIMIRO; LEONARDO TAMAYO.

I WOULD LIKE TO GREET ALL THE JUSTICES WHO ARE PRESENT HERE TODAY; AND ALSO THE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS HEADED BY DEPUTY SPEAKER RAUL GONZALES, HIMSELF A FORMER STATE PROSECUTOR. MAY I GREET MAYOR BELMONTE, THE HOST MAYOR; AND ALL THE OTHER LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WHO ARE HERE; AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO GREET THE MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES HEADED BY PNP DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL JUN EBDANE, WHO PRESENTED THE CO-AUTHORSHIP OF THE BOOK ON "INVESTIGATING CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN;" AND ALSO REPRESENTED BY THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE AFP, GENERAL NARCISO ABAYA; OTHER OFFICIALS OF THE PHUILIPPINE GOVERNMENT; DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.

MY WARMEST GREETINGS TO ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN FROM THE OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN ON THE OCCASION OF YOUR 14th ANNIVERSARY. AND MY CONGRATULATIONS GOES TO THE RECIPIENTS OF THE AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING CORRUPTION PREVENTION UNITS, JUNIOR GRAFTWATCH UNITS, AND OUTSTANDING OMBUDSMAN EMPLOYEES. I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO COME HERE SO I COULD SHAKE HANDS WITH ALL OF YOU. BUT LATER WE'LL DO IT, (LAUGHTER) AFTERWARS. SO, I'D LIKE TO CONGRATULATE YOU AND TO WISH YOU WELL SO THAT YOU WILL CONTINUE TO DO YOUR GOOD WORK. CONGRATULATIONS, TOO ON THE INAUGURATION OF YOUR NEW BUILDING HERE IN THIS ROAD THAT IS SUPPOSED TO HOUSE MANY GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS.

THIS IS AN OPPORTUNE TIME TO MARK THE DISTINCTIVE CONTRIBUTIONS TO GOOD GOVERNANCE THAT HAVE BEEN MADE OVER THE PAST YEAR. THE PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT OF EVERY OFFICIAL AND EMPLOYEE OF THE GOVERNMENT IS THE ULTIMATE MEASURE OF OUR WORTH AS PUBLIC SERVANTS. FOR THE OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN, THERE ARE MANY GOOD REASONS TO CELEBRATE. YOU HAVE CONTRIBUTED IMMENSELY TO MOLDING RESPONSIBLE PUBLIC SERVANTS. RESPONSIBLE PUBLIC SERVANTS ARE THOSE WHO PUT THE INTEREST OF OUR PEOPLE ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE.

OUR CONSTITUTION MANDATES YOU TO BE THE "PROTECTOR OF THE PEOPLE AGAINST GRAFT AND CORRUPT PRACTICES." AND AS SUCH, YOU ARE THE PUBLIC'S WATCHDOG, A MOBILIZER, AN OFFICIAL CRITIC AND A VITAL INSTRUMENT IN THE DISPENSATION OF JUSTICE. THE OMBUDSMAN'S OFFICE WILL ALWAYS BE RELEVANT AND NEEDED FOR AS LONG AS THE LURE OF WEALTH AND POWER IS OCCASIONED BY DISHONESTY AND ABUSE AMONG GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES. IN OTHER WORDS, AS LONG AS THERE IS ORIGINAL SIN, THERE IS NEED FOR THE OMBUDSMAN.

OUR PEOPLE'S FAITH AND TRUST IN GOVERNMENT IS BASED ON THE IMPERATIVE THAT JUSTICE IS SERVED FAIRLY TO EVERY MAN, AND THAT THE LAW IS APPLIED TO ALL. WE, IN GOVERNMENT MUST STRIVE HARD TO REMOVE THE IMPRESSION -- CURRENTLY HELD BY NOT JUST A FEW-- THAT ONLY THE POOR, THE UNDERPRIVILEGED AND THOSE WITHOUT THE MEANS ARE HAILED TO COURT AND MADE TO ANSWER FOR THEIR CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS. THERE IS THAT SAYING, "POOR BOYS FRY AND RICH BOYS FLY. " THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE MUST DISABUSE OUR CONSTITUENCY OF.

WE MUST SUSTAIN PUBLIC FAITH IN OUR SYSTEM OF JUSTICE IF WE WANT THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES TO UPHOLD WHAT IS JUST AND RIGHT. MISTRUST IN OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM BREEDS CONTEMPT AND RESENTMENT AGAINST AUTHORITY. AND WHEN AUTHORITY IS SEVERELY ERODED, WE PLANT THE SEEDS OF DISORDER AND AT WORST, SOCIAL UPHEAVAL.

IT IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE THEN THAT THE PERSONNEL OF THE NATION'S WATCHDOG AGAINST GRAFT AND CORRUPTION BE AT ALL TIMES THE GOOD EXAMPLES OF THE TRUE PUBLIC SERVANT -- ETHICAL, RELIGIOUS, DECENT, UPRIGHT, HONEST. WITHOUT THESE VIRTUES, EFFORTS TO ERADICATE GRAFT AND CORRUPTION WILL AMOUNT TO NOTHING.

YOU AND I, AND ALL PUBLIC SERVANTS MUST SHARE THE COMMITMENT TO UPHOLD THE RULE OF LAW, TO SUSTAIN A GOVERNMENT OF LAWS AND NOT OF MEN, AND TO ACHIEVE A JUST SOCIETY IN WHICH NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW. FOR NO DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY CAN ACHIEVE RESPECTABILITY, SERIOUSNESS AND POLITICAL MATURITY UNTIL IT PROVES THAT IN WORDS AND IN DEEDS NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW, NOT EVEN THOSE IN-CHARGE OF ITS HIGHEST OFFICES.

HISTORY HAS SHOWN US THAT THERE WERE THOSE THAT WERE TEMPTED, IN THEIR TIME, TO TEST THE LIMITS OF THIS MAXIM. AND THAT THERE WERE THOSE WHO HAVE MISERABLY FAILED IN THE FACE OF OUR LAWS. IT MAY BE SAID THAT "POWER CORRUPTS AND ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY." BUT THOSE BLINDED BY AN ABSOLUTE SENSE OF POWER WERE EVENTUALLY BROUGHT DOWN BY THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES. AND THAT IS A GREAT LESSON FROM PHILIPPINE HISTORY.

WE SHOULD NOT WAIT FOR THIS TO HAPPEN AGAIN. CORRUPTION MUST BE NIPPED IN THE BUD AND NEVER ALLOWED TO FLOURISH. SUCH IS THE SPECIAL ROLE THAT THE OMBUDSMAN PLAYS IN OUR SOCIETY. IT BALANCES POWER IN GOVERNANCE. IT ENSURES THAT GOVERNMENT NOT ONLY CREATES LAWS BUT ALSO UPHOLDS IT. THE OMBUDSMAN IS OUR PEOPLE'S INSURANCE THAT THOSE WHO ARE CHOSEN TO GOVERN WILL RESPECT THE FILIPINOS BASIC RIGHTS AND ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR PUBLIC OATH.

THE OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN HAS VIGOROUSLY PURSUED THE DICTUM THAT "PUBLIC OFFICE IS A PUBLIC TRUST." THE OMBUDSMAN HAS STOOD AS A SENTINEL IN ENFORCING A HIGHER ORDER OF ETHICS AND EFFICIENCY. AS AN INDEPENDENT CONSTITUTIONAL BODY, THE OMBUDSMAN HAS DONE ITS JOB WITHOUT REGARD FOR PERSONALITIES, AND HAS SHOWN A SENSE OF JUSTICE THAT IS BLIND TO INFLUENCE PEDDLERS, POWERBROKERS AND VESTED INTERESTS.

I WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE OUR OMBUDSMAN ANI DESIERTO -- ESPECIALLY NOW AS HE APPROACHES THE DAY THAT HE WILL JOIN THE PRIVATE SECTOR -- THE RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN ARE TESTIMONY TO THE ENERGY OF THE PERSONNEL MEETING ITS MANDATE BECAUSE AS ANI SAID, FROM 1995 TO 2001, HE RECEIVED 58,264 CASES PLUS A BACKLOG OF ALMOST 15,000. YET, THE OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN UNDER OMBUDSMAN DESIERTO WAS ABLE TO DISPOSE OF ABOUT 95 PERCENT OF ALL CASES AND IS SEEKING TO HAVE ZERO BACKLOG. SO, CONGRATULATIONS! FOR THAT UNDENIABLE QUANTITATIVE PROOF OF EFFICACY.

MORE IMPRESSIVE IS THE RECORD OF PROSECUTING HIGH-RANKING OFFICIALS. THEY TALKED ABOUT 'BIG FISH' -- WELL, THE OMBUDSMAN HAS TACKLED A LOT OF 'BIG FISH,' AMONG THEM: A FORMER PRESIDENT, TWO FORMER FIRST LADIES, 17 CABINET MEMBERS, SIX CONGRESSMEN, 541 LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. AND IN YOUR GRAFT PREVENTION PROGRAM, YOU HAVE MOBILIZED NGOs -- SOME OF WHOM WE ARE RECOGNIZING TODAY -- GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, THE YOUTH, AND OTHER SECTORS IN THE DRIVE AGAINST GRAFT AND CORRUPTION. GIVEN THE RATE ALSO THAT THE OMBUDSMAN IS RECEIVING COMPLAINTS AGAINST ERRING OFFICIALS, WE MUST CERTAINLY STRENGTHEN OUR PROGRAMS TO NIP CORRUPTION IN THE BUD BY REMOVING THE CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE IT.

THE NATION'S FOREMOST CONCERN IS THE WAR AGAINST POVERTY, AND POVERTY IS A BIG CONTRIBUTOR TO GRAFT AND CORRUPTION. POVERTY INDUCES GRAFT AND CORRUPTION AND CONVERSELY CORRUPT PRACTICES CAUSE MORE POVERTY AND INJUSTICE AMONG THE DISADVANTAGED SECTOR -- THIS VICIOUS CYCLE MUST BE STOPPED.

GOOD GOVERNANCE IS WHAT WE MUST HAVE. WHEN I BECAME PRESIDENT, ON MY FIRST WORKING DAY, THE FIRST MONDAY AFTER I BECAME PRESIDENT, JANUARY 22 YEAR 2001, I SAID, GOOD GOVERNANCE RESTS ON THREE PILLARS: FIRST, A SOUND MORAL FOUNDATION TO GUIDE OUR LEADERSHIP AT ALL LEVELS; SECOND, A PHILOSOPHY OF TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN ALL GOVERNMENT TRANSACTIONS; AND THIRD, AN ETHIC OF EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION THROUGHOUT THE BUREAUCRACY. ALL OF THESE ARE PART OF YOUR MANDATE.

ON YOUR 14th ANNIVERSARY, I URGE THE OMBUDSMAN'S WORKFORCE TO REMAIN STEADFAST AS PROTECTORS OF OUR PEOPLE. MAY YOU NEVER BE INTIMIDATED BY THE STEEPNESS OF CHALLENGES, AND MAY YOU REMAIN IMPERVIOUS TO THE CALL OF WEALTH AND FAME IN EXCHANGE FOR YOUR FAVORS. THERE SHOULD BE NO GREATER FAVOR FOR YOU THAN THE HIGH ESTEEM AND THE GRATITUDE OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE.

MAY I SAY IN CLOSING THAT ONE OF THE THINGS I REMEMBER MOST ABOUT ANI DESIERTO IN HIS CAREER IS THAT ONE TIME HE TOLD ME THAT HE IS VERY CONSCIOUS THAT HE FACES THE JUDGMENT OF HISTORY AND HE DOES NOT WANT HISTORY TO JUDGE HIM BADLY, HE WANTS HISTORY TO JUDGE HIM WELL. AND SO, I AM CONFIDENT THAT IN ALL THE ACTIONS THAT ANI HAS DONE THROUGHOUT HIS WORK AS OMBUDSMAN, HE WAS ALWAYS CONSCIOUS OF HISTORY, AND I THINK HISTORY RATHER THAN THE LURE OF TEMPORARY WEALTH OR TEMPORARY APPROVAL IS A GREATER GUIDE FOR WHAT IS THE GOOD THAT SHOULD BE DONE. SO, I CONGRATULATE YOU, ANI -- ALL YOUR SERVICE AS OMBUDSMAN. AND I CONGRATULATE ALL OF THOSE WHO WORKED WITH YOU AND MAY YOU ALL CONTINUE TO DO A GOOD JOB.

I WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PRESENCE OF SPEAKER JOE DE VENECIA. I ALREADY EXPLAINED TO THE HEAD TABLE, JOE THAT YOU WILL BE FOLLOWING BECAUSE I LEFT YOU IN THE GOLF COURSE BECAUSE TODAY WAS THE GOLF TOURNAMENT FOR THE SPEAKER'S CUP IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO BUILD A LARGE HOME FOR STREETCHILDREN. SO THIS IS PART OF OUR FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY, AND AS I SAID EARLIER, THE FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY IS INTERLINKED WITH THE FIGHT AGAINST INJUSTICE. THE WORK OF THE OMBUDSMAN IS JUST AS MUCH A PART OF THE FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY AS IT IS A LARGE PART OF THE FIGHT AGAINST GRAFT AND CORRUPTION. ONCE AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS, ANI. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU ON YOUR 14th ANNIVERSARY. CONGRATULATIONS ON THIS NEW HOME AND MAY YOU DO YOUR WORK AS BEAUTIFULLY AS THE NEW HOME THAT YOU ARE WORKING IN.

THANK YOU.

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