Graft-busting grandma jailing corrupt Philippine politicians
grandmother who has sued politicians from the
president down in her quest to rid her country of
corruption, laughs in the face of death threats —
literally.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, 75, chuckled
as she recounted to AFP how she was reluctantly
obliged to put up a higher fence around her house
after a grenade with her initials on it was
discovered by her property in 2012.
“I’m not scared,” she said, her eyes flashing as she
thumped her hand on the desk in her office.
The people she investigates “are the ones who are
intimidated — that’s why they are trying to scare
me”.
Fighting corruption is dangerous work in the graft-
plagued Philippines, where witnesses — even judges
— are gunned down and convicted politicians are
freed and re-elected.
After four decades in the country’s notoriously
corrupt judiciary, Morales was looking forward to
retirement when former president Benigno Aquino
asked her to head a special body to prosecute
corrupt officials as part of his centrepiece anti-graft
crusade.
On Wednesday, her “moral courage and
commitment to justice in taking head-on one of the
most intractable problems in the Philippines,” is set
to be recognised when she will be awarded the
Ramon Magsaysay Award — Asia’s version of the
Nobel.
“She is, quite simply, an inspiring public servant,”
the judges said.
– Indict ‘sacred cows’ –
Born into a family of honest lawyers, Morales had a
slow and tricky rise through the ranks due to her
incorruptibility, but finally made it to the Supreme
Court, where she became the first female magistrate
to swear in a president in 2010.
A tireless worker, she now puts in 12-hour days, six
days a week at the Ombudsman — Sundays are
reserved for the grandchildren — and her discipline
is credited with boosting the office’s conviction rate
to 75 percent from just 41 percent when she took
office in 2011.
Despite progress under Aquino, fighting “endemic”
corruption in the Philippines is an uphill battle, she
said, adding that corruption flourishes when people
think they can get away with it.
“We file cases against top government officials,” she
said.
When the “so-called sacred cows are indicted, that
should give a signal to people to be more cautious,”
she added.
Her biggest frustration came when the Supreme
Court freed ex-president Gloria Arroyo and
powerful former senator Juan Ponce Enrile despite
what Morales insists was solid evidence of graft.
The pair had pleaded ill-health for years and were
detained in government hospitals but it was all an
act, Morales said: “after you are free… you
swagger!”
Her tenaciousness has earned her many enemies,
including former vice president Jejomar Binay, who
called her “stupid” after she charged him with
taking huge kickbacks when he was mayor.
But she argues the Philippines’ culture of political
patronage is allowing top leaders to evade
accountability.
“They act like they’re Robin Hood,” she said.
When her son died of cancer at 41 last year, some
of her more unpleasant critics used the personal
tragedy to attack her.
“They said it was my karma. See how cruel people
are?” she said, adding that she was however “made
of strong stuff”.
Morales, who is not due to step down until 2018,
will continue her work under new President
Rodrigo Duterte, but said her agency will remain
impartial.
“We do not take orders from anyone. We are
independent. Period.”
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