Is Rep. Loreto-Garin corrupt?

By Alex P. Vidal

 

“I don’t believe in collective guilt, but I do believe in collective responsibility.”—Audrey Hepburn

 

IT’S too premature yet to conclude that Iloilo first district Rep. Janette Loreto-Garin is a dishonest public official.

In fact, I personally believe she is not a corrupt person.

But if Senator Richard Gordon can prove otherwise, or if the Senate blue ribbon committee can show overwhelming pieces of evidence that Loreto-Garin had committed plunder, or there was mere “whiff of corruption” in the alleged diversion of the P10.6-billion PhilHealth Senior Citizen Fund to other projects in December 2015, who am I to insist that Loreto-Garin is like Caesar’s wife?

If she connived with other officials in the Noynoy Aquino administration to steal the taxpayers’ money and her guilt were proven beyond doubt in a competent court, she must be thrown in jail.

No ifs. No buts.

The Filipino people, impoverished by lack of economic opportunities, perpetual poor leadership, and recently by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, have no tolerance and mercy for thieves and rascals in government.

 

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Graft and corruption are considered mortal sins in Third World countries like the Philippines.

Public officials tasked to safeguard the public funds are mandated to serve the people, not to pocket their money.

Graft and corruption on a massive scale is unforgivable; the perpetrators should be dealt with the most severe penalty under the law.

It’s always against common sense and logic for public servants to live in affluence and enlarge their pockets after robbing the poor, or those who can’t make both ends meet but are the ones paying the salary and other perks and privileges of government officials.

But if she is innocent, in the name of fairness and objectivity, we will be ready to defend Loreto-Garin especially if the accusations against her are false, and if her reputation has been tarnished as a result of wrongful imputations and public trial.

 

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Loreto-Garin has been doing at least a satisfactory job in congress (except when she goofed by joining the infamous “Gang of 70” that snuffed out ABS-CBN’s franchise) and as Department of Health (DOH) secretary in the previous administration.

This was prior to heavily absorbing the brickbats in the Dengvaxia hullaballoo.

From what we know about the 48-year-old lady representative, she is a hard-working public servant and loves to talk extensively on topics related to health being a doctor by profession.

Our observation is based on the solon’s performance during her baptism of fire as a politician, when she first served as a board member representing the first district of Iloilo in 2004.

She became a national figure during her stint as the DOH boss when President Noynoy Aquino was in power.

We always see to it to be fair with Loreto-Garin.

Like what we do with others who also serve in government, we also criticize her, including her family, the very powerful and influential Garin clan in Guimbal, Iloilo, in relation to their functions as public officials.

We also support their projects and programs, more particularly those that redound to the benefits of their constituents, especially their abundant contributions and their partnership with the private donors in the effort to help contain the pandemic.

 

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In the latest controversy that rocked Loreto-Garin, Gordon, chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee, released an executive summary of the committee’s report on its August 2019 investigation into PhilHealth where Gordon recommended the filing of criminal charges against Loreto-Garin, former budget chief Florencio Abad, and former PhilHealth president Alexander Padilla for allegedly diverting the P10.6-billion PhilHealth Senior Citizen Fund in December 2015 to other projects.

The projects reportedly included the planned construction of thousands of barangay health stations, rural health units, national government hospitals, and the procurement of mobile dental trucks.

These projects were barely completed, according to Gordon, who suspected the money was used to bankroll electoral campaigns ahead of the May 2016 national polls.

It was learned that Loreto-Garin and Padilla faced a graft case before the Office of the Ombudsman in May 2018 over the same allegations.

 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)