In filing Senate Bill 2716, Santiago sought to address what she
said was the doctrine of condonation in Philippine jurisprudence brought about
by the 2010 case of Salumbides vs. Ombudsman.
Santiago also cited the older case of Pascual vs. Hon. Provincial
Board of Nueva Ecija that prohibits the disciplining of an elective official
for a wrongful act committed during his immediately preceding term of office.
Santiago said it was very disturbing that the Pascual ruling was
reiterated in the 2010 case, saying this “provides a blanket defense for
elected officials to evade liability just by securing a reelection, considering
that the term of a local elective official is only three years.”
“By merely asserting the doctrine of condonation, erring elective
officials are automatically given a clean slate once reelected,” she said.
Santiago noted this doctrine was once again cited, this time by
the camp of Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr. in his defense over a
complaint lodged against him over the alleged anomalies in the construction of
the parking building by the city government, which it now calls the Makati City
Hall Building II.
The camp of Binay argued the mayor should not be prosecuted over
the alleged overpricing of the parking building because the said anomalies
occurred during his previous term of office.
“That is a cross-eyed
simplification of the problem. The first qualification for a public office
should be honesty or integrity. It is wrong to equate the reelection of a
public official to condonation of his past criminal offenses,” Santiago said.
“The result would be ludicrous. Any public official will feel free
to commit any crime, including plunder, and thus winning reelection, if it
automatically means that his previous crimes are condoned,” she added.
Santiago said this would also run counter to the State’s duty to
maintain honesty and integrity in public office and to keep officers
accountable to the public.
“The very object of removal is to rid the community of a corrupt,
incapable or unworthy official. Reelection does not condone the offense.
Misconduct may not have been discovered prior to the election and in any event,
had not been established in the manner contemplated by the statute,” Santiago
said.
Source +Yahoo News
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