After the nation’s bereavement at the loss of a great civil servant in former Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, the public had been bombarded by tales of the humble mayor and his revolutionary deeds in Naga. More than a month later, the same could not be said for one of his deputies.
Less than 24 hours after Robredo’s plane had crashed in Masbate, DILG Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno had reportedly been ordered by the President to immediately secure sensitive documents that the late secretary had left behind in his residence in Tomas Morato, Quezon City. These documents include the records of investigations into transactions that could incriminate notable public figures such as Puno; specifically, the documents in question include two procurements of firearms worth Php 178 million and Php 213 million, for the Philippine National Police’s Special Action Force.
The speed by which Puno arrived at Lansbergh Place with a cadre of police officers in tow has brought the public to ponder questions, such as: why did the President send Department of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Paquito Ochoa to ‘lock down’ the apartment three days after Puno’s security check? Was the query of Supt. Tanseco, one of the police officers who accompanied Puno, not sufficient to secure the documents? Why did Usec. Puno not request the consent of Mrs. Robredo in checking the documents, given that Robredo’s exact whereabouts (and death) had not yet been confirmed?
Puno has thusly resigned from his post as Undersecretary, even if many of these questions remain sufficiently unanswered. Insiders in the palace point to anomalies in the procurement of firearms in the Philippine National Police; the overpricing of M4 rifles and Glock pistols revealed inconsistencies in the bidding process, hinting at the unnecessary involvement of officials in the proceedings. The discovery of this overpricing through the comparison of prices available in the Internet all the more reinforces the implications of mismanagement in the Philippine National Police.
To add to the incrimination is the track record of the former official’s inability to deal with illegal gambling and jueteng, despite having the full force of the PNP as interior undersecretary for public order and safety. Puno’s is one of 12 big names who are part of the 30 billion peso jueteng syndicate, according to past pronouncements by Sen. Miriam Santiago and Lingayen-Pangasinan Archbishop Oscar Cruz. Media spinners have even used his association as the president’s shooting range companion to point to the inconsistency of Daang Matuwid in being unable to effectively mitigate corruption.
The public scandal of Rico Puno should bring us back to the fundamental question of good governance and integrity in public management. Whoever will be replacing Puno as undersecretary for public order and safety will become the de facto head of the PNP and will hold considerable power in enacting the reforms necessary to minimize corruption in local government, especially in the numbers game.
One of the key measures used by Robredo to dismantle the seediest jueteng joints in his home city was to involve and secure the loyalty of progressive civil society organizations as allies. While the allegiance to leftist elements and NGOs might have raised eyebrows, the net effect saw a Naga whose gambling joints and syndicates had been effectively silenced and minimized.
Statesmen such as Robredo were able to involve the people in securing public welfare, order, and safety without compromising the state’s vision. Puno’s successor, as well as all other public officials, ought be compelled to heed his example.
