Crisis Of Public Trust

Ana Marie Pamintuan (The Philippine Star) | Updated October 14, 2013 - 12:00am

Because of the nations failure to send any big fish to prison for corruption, a common comment about the pork barrel scandal is that when all the huffing and puffing is over, no lawmaker will end up behind bars. On top of the cynicism is a grave erosion of public trust that, if allowed to fester, could further complicate governance in a nation that has been described as ungovernable. There are valid fears that the crisis of public trust may erode recent economic gains. In a democracy there is a social contract: citizens contribute earnings to a common fund administered by the state, with the policy makers freely and directly elected by the people. Taxpayers in our case almost anyone with spending power trust that these public officials have the competence and integrity to carry out their duties. With this trust comes a presumption of regularity in government. In countries where the government enjoys a comfortable level of public trust, certain measures can be implemented for national security or public safety, which in our country will be seen as threats to civil liberties. In Singapore, for example, police are allowed to take the statement of a crime suspect immediately upon his arrest and before he gets a lawyer, and the statement is admissible as evidence. The reason behind it is that once the lawyers get into the picture, a suspect can be taught to lie. Opinion ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The presumption of regularity underpins the allotment of billions of pesos in public funds annually to our elected officials including the president, to be utilized at their discretion. Regularity is also presumed in the allocation of intelligence funds to law enforcement and national security agencies, which are exempt from normal auditing a procurement laws. In recent years, all three branches of government have been stained at the highest levels. These days, with public trust deemed to be so brazenly betrayed, every aspect of governance has become suspect. It is hoped that the public distrust has its upside: people are more vigilant, and government workers more aware of their responsibility to use public funds judiciously. Safeguards are being introduced to prevent the misuse of public funds and abuse of power. A possible downside is that those safeguards will degenerate into layers of red tape that will mean inefficiency in the delivery of basic services and open more opportunities for graft.