Remulla, Gesmundo push for concrete anti-corruption outcomes

MANILA, Philippines — Top justice officials on Monday vowed to turn inter-agency cooperation into concrete action against graft and corruption, warning that agreements must lead to results.

The Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) and the Office of the Ombudsman signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday to strengthen cooperation in administering justice, promoting public accountability and combating corruption.

The agreement brings the Ombudsman into the JSCC’s inter-agency partnership alongside the judiciary, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

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The participating institutions will work together to address bottlenecks in corruption-related cases and improve secure information-sharing and digital systems.

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Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla stressed the need to turn the agreement into concrete action, warning against allowing it to become merely symbolic.

“I do not want a memorandum of understanding to become another document that we sign today and forget tomorrow,” Remulla said.

“At the end of the day, our people are not interested in how many meetings we conduct or agreements we sign. They want corruption prevented. They want wrongdoings punished. They want justice delivered without unnecessary delay,” he added.

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Remulla also said the institutions must act before corruption undermines public funds, government services and public trust.

“We cannot simply wait for public funds to be stolen, government services to be compromised, or public trust to be destroyed before we act,” he added.

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Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, meanwhile, assured the public that closer inter-agency coordination would not compromise the participating institutions’ independence.

“Recognizing that while our mandates are distinct, our responsibility to the Filipino people is shared,” Gesmundo said. “We can work together without overstepping our respective constitutional boundaries.”

As he nears the end of his tenure as chief justice, Gesmundo described the unified effort as a crucial step toward building a lasting legacy of public trust.

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“No institution must stand alone in the fight against corruption, and no public office is greater than the responsibility we owe our people,” he added. /mcm