The term “conflict of interest’ is very popular these days. It refers to a situation where an individual’s personal interests will get in the way of fair and objective decisions. The result are decisions which favor the person making it and not the public.
The decision makers with conflict of interest favor the side that provides benefits that will accrue to them and not to the public.
This conflict is perceived to taint the on-going Senate and House of Representatives hearings on the flood control projects of the DPWH.
The decision maker who is favoring a particular interest will choose the side where he can get the best monetary reward.
There are a few ways to classify the benefits. One is straightforward: the users of the projects will benefit from it. Another way is that the benefits will largely go to the persons who supported the funding of the project from project identification to the release of the budget, a situation which is slowly coming to the limelight.
This is, ironically, a well-known secret. Even the man on the street is familiar with this. But the main issue now is what could happen to those who are committing this graft and corruption. Successful prosecution of these cases is a long way down the road. Sec. Vince Dizon recognized this when he announced at the beginning of his tenure that the work of the forthcoming Independent Commission will probably last until 2028.
The road to the prosecution of these offenders will have many obstacles, such as the need for documents, affidavits, and so forth. Conviction for violation of the anti-graft laws will be a very difficult and long process that can take years.
The trial by publicity will not result to convictions. It will only affect the reputation of those suspected of committing graft. Cases have to be filed in court and government prosecutors will have their hands full proving that crimes were committed beyond reasonable doubt.
It will take about a month before a case can be filed in court. However, a half-hazardly prepared case will only end in dismissal. It will only frustrate the desire of the public to bring the culprits to justice for committing crimes against the nation.
It will take months to try a case involving a single DPWH Engineer. This is a gigantic task; many of those who should be charged will not be charged for practical reasons. There are not enough investigators and prosecutors and there are many offenders as shown by the records from flood control projects. If this is the situation, where will the investigations and prosecutions lead?
It will lead to nowhere if the effort is not serious. However, the adoption of the Commission model could produce results from the momentum it could create and the records it will generate. It is good copy every day as investigations and prosecutions are made throughout the country.
This initiative will be around for quite a long time.
In the final analysis, it is not the conflict of interest that that matters. It is something deeper. There are clear acts of falsifying record of accomplishments that will be discovered in the fact-finding. Also, there are acts that show the bloating of estimates to generate more funds for corruption.
These are exciting times.
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