UN panel: Corruption still pervasive in Philippines government
Credit to Author: Pia Lee-Brago| Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0800
MANILA, Philippines — A United Nations committee remains concerned that corruption is still “pervasive” in all branches of government and in the wider public sector in the Philippines.
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on Monday issued its findings, officially known as Concluding Observations on the Philippines’ implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and efforts to fight corruption, after the review on the Philippines on Feb. 18 in Geneva, Switzerland.
“While noting the information provided by the state party regarding efforts to combat corruption, the committee remains concerned that corruption remains pervasive in all branches of government and in the wider public sector,” the Concluding Observations on the Seventh Periodic Report of the Philippines read in part.
It is also concerned about reports that anti-corruption bodies, such as the Office of the Ombudsman and the Commission on Audit, lack sufficient financial and technical resources to effectively investigate all such allegations.
The committee recommended that the Philippines “promptly, independently and impartially investigate and prosecute all cases of corruption, in particular high-level corruption, including corruption in the government and the judiciary, and if a person is convicted, apply penalties commensurate with the seriousness of the offense” and “ensure the effectiveness of anti-corruption bodies by immediately providing them with sufficient human, technical and financial resources with a view to enabling them to effectively and independently discharge their mandates.”
While noting the information provided by the Philippines regarding recently enacted legislative measures and policy interventions to protect and uphold economic, social and cultural rights and citations of the Covenant by the Supreme Court, the committee remains concerned that the direct application of the Covenant by domestic courts, particularly lower courts, continues to remain low.
The committee reiterated is previous recommendation that the state party take all appropriate measures to ensure the protections of economic, social and at the constitutional level, to institutionalize writs of amparo concerning the Covenant rights, and to ensure that those rights are protected by the domestic courts at all levels, and that the state party enhance training for judges, lawyers and public officials on the Covenant.
It is concerned about reports of instances of pressure, threats, intimidation and intervention by public officials in the judicial system, including at the national, regional and municipal levels.
“The committee recommends that the state party safeguard, in law and in practice, the full independence, impartiality and safety of judges and prosecutors and prevent them from being influenced in their decision-making by any form of undue political pressure, violence, threats or corruption,” it said.