Philippines’ Marcos should look to China’s success in fighting corruption

Anyone who has visited Manila, capital of the Philippines, will be familiar with two famous landmarks. One is the EDSA shrine in Ortigas Centre, Manila’s financial district. It was built in 1989 to commemorate the People Power Revolution, the peaceful demonstrations that eventually toppled the government of president Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. The other is the People Power Monument located in the centre of Quezon City, built to commemorate the same event but on a much larger scale. The monument is composed of figures representing all sectors of society with their arms linked in solidarity. It is a poignant symbol of the fight against corruption and a reminder of the country’s history. So it was that crowds took to the street in protest on June 30, as Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr, the 64-year-old son of the late Ferdinand Marcos, took his oath as the country’s 17th president. Many Filipinos are no doubt concerned about the history of corruption of his family and its impact on his governance. The public demonstration on the day of the inauguration ceremony is a reflection of this concern, and should not be ignored. In his inauguration speech, Marcos Jnr promised that he and his government were developing a “comprehensive, all-inclusive plan for economic transformation”, which includes massive infrastructure building. However, past experience has taught the people of the Philippines that government procurement and infrastructure building are two areas where the risk of corruption is highest. It is important for Marcos Jnr to set the tone from the top and publicly pledge his commitment to fighting corruption. In that regard, Marcos Jnr can learn from China’s success in combating corruption after President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. Xi’s anti-corruption campaign has impressed the world and led to a genuine upswell of public support, and this is exactly what Marcos Jnr needs now. Indeed, he might have taken the opportunity to seek the expert advice of China’s Vice-President Wang Qishan, the person responsible for leading China’s fight against corruption, when he attended Marcos Jnr’s inauguration ceremony. In fact, the Philippines already has a solid anti-corruption institutional structure in place. The national anti-corruption agency is the Office of the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is nominated by the president and has to be approved by parliament. Once appointed, he or she is truly independent and can only be dismissed through impeachment by parliament. The office has the authority to investigate and prosecute. In addition, there is an independent anti-corruption court set up with selected judges to deal solely with corruption trials. Marcos revival: electing the son may well be forgiving the father However, one thing the Philippines can learn from China is how to effectively use these corruption prevention systems and vigilantly enforce the regulations. The country’s anti-corruption law, the Ombudsman Act of 1989, is antiquated and has limited powers against today’s more sophisticated and hi-tech forms of corruption. The law does not provide officers of the Ombudsman with any power of arrest or detention, nor can investigators conduct covert surveillance, intercept phone calls or even check suspects’ bank accounts. The law needs improving, and for this there are plenty of references from mainland China and Hong Kong. The Philippines could seek help from Beijing and Hong Kong in providing investigation training to the Office of the Ombudsman. In particular, it can learn from China’s “Zero Trust” programme, which uses high-level data technology to analyse and uncover corrupt assets of public officials. And, since the commissioner of the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is now also the president of the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities, the Philippines can make use of its membership to seek training assistance from the ICAC. International cooperation in fighting corruption is now regarded as essential to maintaining good partnerships between nations, such as in mutual legal assistance, money laundering and corrupt asset recovery. Marcos Jnr can use his new presidency as an opportunity to establish a good working relationship with China in anti-corruption cooperation, and could ultimately extend such a partnership to all other areas of economy, trade and infrastructure development. Tony Kwok is an adjunct professor at HKU Space and an international anti-corruption consultant. He was formerly the hon. adviser of the Philippines Office of the Ombudsman