OBLIQUE OBSERVATIONS
By Atty. Gilberto Lauengco, J.D.
Whenever one tries to uncover corruption, there will always be two possible outcomes. First, the guilty ones will be punished. The second one is that similar actions can be prevented. It is often difficult to actually fully punish perpetrators in corruption scandals. Prevention, on the other hand, is relatively easier and faster to achieve as a goal.
In this light, a group of Information technology (IT) professionals has been proposing several IT or data-based tools that can actually help prevent or detect corruption. Before any AI or data tools can be applied, there must be tweaks to our transparency and freedom of information protocols.
There was a proposal for legislation that would compel all government officials to waive their bank secrecy law rights. Under RA 1405, or the Secrecy of Bank Deposits law, some provisions protect the confidentiality of bank deposits. The proposed legislation would require all government officials to authorize the Ombudsman to examine their deposits and investments, including foreign currency accounts as a condition of continued public service. In addition, any new appointments for government service can be required by an executive edict to give such waiver as a precondition for appointment. Combined with data from the Securities Exchange Commission, the Register of Deeds, and Bureau of Customs (for imported luxury items), these could be correlated with Statement of Assets and Liabilities to create a clear picture of the possible presence of unexplained wealth and could be the starting point for monitoring the said officials.
Data from the SEC can reveal conflict of interest scenarios and possible names of dummies used to cover their trail. Data from the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Register of Deeds can trace properties and correlate with sources of income. An empowered citizenry under a program that encourages and incentivizes people to monitor the lifestyle of government officials physically or through social media can exponentially add data relevant to the lifestyle of the said government officials and to the presence and quality of public works and projects of the government.
More open bidding processes and government project and procurement plans will add to the collective database. The planning process for example of infrastructure related to flood control can be based on data provided by scientific studies as to the areas where such controls are needed. A science and data-based approach to infrastructure plans can avoid unneeded and potential ghost projects. Any project that lacks the scientific relevant data to prove its effectivity should be disregarded or scrapped.
Insofar as government projects are concerned an empowered and informed citizenry can take photos of published projects and upload the same to dedicated websites. Given the enormous chunk of data, AI can now sift through all of these data and flag anomalies or inconsistencies.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology can be tasked to synchronize and oversee these efforts. A synergized, multi-sectoral and science-based approach can go a long way in the fight against corruption.
