Government officials found guilty of corruption should spend the rest of their lives in prison without the possibility of early release, anti-corruption advocate Dr. John Chiong said, as the Philippines faces criminal cases involving multibillion-peso kickbacks from flood-control and other infrastructure projects.
Chiong, founding chairman of anti-corruption group Task Force Kasanag, called for reclusion perpetua in an interview reported Nov. 12. He argued that officials who steal government funds should remain behind bars.
“Kailangan talaga yung reclusion perpetua. Yung dapat for life sentence. Life sentence talaga na hindi siya makakalabas diyan.”
Under the Revised Penal Code, reclusion perpetua has a statutory duration of 20 years and one day to 40 years. It is already the penalty for plunder following the abolition of the death penalty. Presidential clemency remains available under the Constitution.
“Dapat sa isang taong involved sa corruption, no more clemency,” Chiong said.
His call comes as former House Speaker Martin Romualdez faces a ₱7.44-billion plunder charge involving kickbacks from flood-control and infrastructure projects. Plunder is non-bailable when the evidence of guilt is strong, but Romualdez has filed a petition for bail to contest whether the prosecution has met that standard.
Chiong questioned whether wealth and connections allow influential individuals to avoid prosecution.
“How [are] you sure that our justice system is honest na talagang patas ang kanilang mga prosecution? So ngayon pa lang nakikita naman natin kung sino lang ang nakulong. Marami pang hindi nakulong dahil sa impluwensya ng pera, dahil sa impluwensya ng mga connections.”
A separate bill filed in December 2024 proposed death by firing squad for officials convicted of specified corruption crimes, but it never became law. Chiong’s proposed blanket ban on clemency would confront the President’s constitutional pardoning power.
