Article 11.

Measures relating to the judiciary and prosecution services

“Paragraph 2. Measures to the same effect as those taken pursuant to paragraph

1 of this article may be introduced and applied within the prosecution service in
those States Parties where it does not form part of the judiciary but enjoys
independence similar to that of the judicial service.”

Compliance of the Philippines as a State Party

The Philippines as a state party in the United Nations Convention Against

Corruption (UNCAC) implements Executive Order No. 171 s. 2014 entitled “CREATING
AN INTER-AGENCY COMMITTEE TO OVERSEE THE REVIEW, IMPLEMENTATION AND
MONITORING OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION” which
obliges state parties including the Philippines to effectuate a wide range of anti-
corruption measures entrenched in our laws, institutions and practices.

Moreover, the State ensures to demonstrate its strong commitment to UNCAC

through cooperation at the domestic level among the different branches of the
government, collaboration with the private sector and engagement of broader segments
of the civil society, including territorial and political subdivisions of the country. 1

Guidance Checklist:

Integrity and Independence of the Prosecution

The Constitution, Article 2, Section 27 provides:

“Section 27. The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public
service and take positive and effective measures against graft and
corruption.

The concept of the independence of the three branches of the government is

well-entrenched in our constitution. It extends from the notion that the powers of the
government must be divided to avoid concentration of these powers in any one branch;

1
Executive Order No. 171, s. 2014
the division, it is hoped, would avoid any single branch from lording its power over the
other branches or citizenry.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), as a part and under the executive branch
enjoys independence but still subject to certain limitations as provided by law. The
Department is the principal law agency of the State and serves as its legal counsel and
prosecution arm - headed by the Secretary of Justice serving as the alter-ego of the
President tasked to ensure that the mandates of the Department are being
implemented.

Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Measures by the Department

The Department implements its own code of conduct for the prosecution service,
it enumerates the roles of the prosecutors, standards of conduct, prohibited acts for the
prosecutors and their support staff.

To strengthen the aforecited code of conduct, the Department by virtue of

Department Order No. 768, Series of 2011 (DO-768) established the Internal Affairs
Unit (IAU). The purpose of the Internal Affairs Unit is to ensure the strict compliance by
all the personnel in the prosecution service with the provisions of the Code of Conduct
for Prosecutors, Code of Conduct for the Members of Support Staff, Code of Conduct
and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (R.A. No. 6713), the DOJ
policies, rules and regulations regarding the civil service and public accountability.

The Code of Conduct and the Internal Affairs Units of the Department are both
developed in compliance with the Guidelines on the Roles of the Prosecutors and
Standard of Professional Responsibility and the Statement of the Essential Duties and
Rights of Prosecutors as set forth by the United Nations.

Relevant Laws

In relation to the above measures, the following are the laws relating to graft
and corruption and integrity and transparency in the government, including the
prosecution:

a.) Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-Graft & Corrupt Practices Act)

b.) Republic Act No. 6713 (An Act Establishing A Code of Conduct and
Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, to Uphold the
 Time-Honored Principle of Public Office Being A Public Trust, Granting
Incentives and Rewards for Exemplary Service, Enumerating Prohibited
Acts and Transactions and Providing Penalties for Violations Thereof
and For other Purposes)

Proposed Measure to ensure transparency and accountability

Graft and corruption truly is the social malaise that plagues our society. In
Ancient times up to the modern day corruption has remained one of the factors which
causes the fall of empires and government. In 2005, a corruption watchdog
Transparency International issues a Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which reflects
the perception of business people and country analyst worldwide concerning the extent
of corruption in the countries surveyed. Out of 159 countries, Philippines ranked in
117th as one of the countries which is perceived as corrupt.2

In varying degrees, different levels of agency heads have the following

powers and functions conferred on them by law or regulation which, if exercised
properly, can be effective tools in promoting efficiency, economy, and honesty in their
respective government office or agency, the same applies to the Department:

a.) Power over agency funds

- Power to prepare budget proposals, and to implement the budget

as approved

- Power to approve disbursements of funds and uses of property

b.) Power over agency personnel

- The Secretary as Chief Executive Officer has the power to appoint
and assign personnel

- Power to institute administrative actions or otherwise

exercise disciplinary authority over the agency personnel
In this instance, the IAU of the Department would play a big role
on investigating and deciding on matters involving disciplinary
action against officers and employees under the prosecution or its
jurisdiction.
2
Anti-Graft Guidebook by Ursal-
 - Power to approve personnel benefits, including conferment of non-
monetary honorary awards – the power to approve personnel
benefits is accessory to its supervisory power over the personnel,
based on policy standards and subject to budgetary requirements.
If properly conferred on government officials and employees who
demonstrate exceptional fidelity to the ideals of honesty in the face
of a culture of graft, the practice will go a long way in setting up
models of integrity to be emulated and admired by the rest of the
agency personnel.

c.) Responsibilities over agency resources

Proposed Anti-Corruption Measure

As of today, the Department does not have any well-established corruption

measures to address issues and problems that involve graft and corruption as well as
bribery.

The IAU recognizes that there is a need to implement an effective and efficient
anti-corruption practices. In this regard, below is the proposed measure by the
Department:

OFFICE OF
THE
SECRETARY

Internal
Affairs Unit

Prosecution Prosecution
on Special Against
Concerns Corruption

Operations
Divison
 Prosecution Against Corruption (PAC) and Prosecution on Special
Concerns (PSC) were inspired with the Independent Commission Against Corruption
(ICAC) of Hong Kong. The said strategy is popularly regarded as a successful model in
fighting corruption.

The proposed measure will focus on its three-pronged strategy – fighting

corruption against deterrence, prevention and education. Out of the three the
most important is deterrence. The same will be needed under the Operations Division,
which is responsible for investigating corruption. The main goal of this strategy is to
make corruption a “high-risk crime”. If corruption will be considered by the department
as a high-risk crime it will deter any kind of anomalous conduct from happening due to
high risk of being caught.

Furthermore, the above structure shows that the PAC and PSC will be under the
IAU and the most important part -- Operations Division will be responsible for the
professional and dedicated investigative work. Both PAC and PSC will be directly
reporting to the IAU unless otherwise directed by the Secretary of Justice.

In conclusion, the success factors for an effective corruption investigation

include:

a.) An effective complaint system to attract quality corruption reports

b.) An intelligence system to supplement the complaint system and to provide
intelligence support to investigations
c.) Professional & dedicated investigators who need to be particularly effective in
interviewing techniques and financial investigation
d.) More use of proactive investigation methods, such as entrapment and
undercover operations
e.) A good system of protection of whistleblower and key witness 3

Statistics, reports and case study

Based on the research conducted by the Internal Affairs Unit, there are
approximately 56 cases of graft, 16 cases of corruption, and 2 cases of bribery
found in the Internal Affairs Unit database respectively. Although the Department
of Justice has been able to litigate cases of graft and corruption in the
administrative level, the measures may still not be enough in order to efficiently

3
Fighting Corruption by Dr. Raymundo Julio A. Olaguer
 serve justice. On the three cases studied by the unit, the department only
entitled the prosecutors to be reprimanded by the authority4, or dismissed due to
lack in substance and form in their submitted complaint5.

The Department, particularly the Training Section has been able to create
educational programs and seminars such as the SALN Review last May 2016,
Basic Accounting and Internal Control last September 2017, Public Service Ethics
and Accountability last November 2017, and Orientation for New Employees last
October 2017, however, the sustainability of it remains questionable. Thus, it is
recommended for the department to revamp the educational programs to ensure
the competence and the development of the prosecutors regarding such
concern.

4
Liwangan-Co v. Tatlonghari (DOJ-ADM- 07H17-0005)
5
Feliciano v. Togonon (DOJ-ADM-22F17-0018)