Transparency chief has blot on her escutcheon

THE Ombudsman has scolded a former woman judge for trying to put down the image of the Philippines in its fight against corruption.

Retired Judge Dolores Español should have been aware that the fight for justice, equity and freedom from graft was an uphill battle, and should have checked her facts before portraying the Philippines as a corrupt country, Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez said.

She said Español herself had experienced how it was to be investigated and adjudged guilty of gross ignorance of the law, inefficiency and neglect of duty and fined twice by the Supreme Court.

“So before one points a finger at another, she should remember that three of her own fingers are pointed at her also,” Gutierrez said in a statement.

She made the statement in the wake of reports that Español, head of Transparency International-Philippines, failed to consider the Ombudsman’s recent decisions in controversial cases, and that led Transparency International to rank the Philippines 139th among 180 countries perceived to be the most corrupt in its 2009 report.

The Philippines’ ranking should in fact have improved, Gutierrez said. –Macon Ramos Araneta, Manila Standard Today