Hotline vs corruption

At the outset, the Duterte administration can expect an enthusiastic public response to the opening of text hotlines where people can report corruption. President Duterte said over the weekend that the complaints would be made public in a morning program soon to be aired daily on government TV. He promised to call the officials accused of corruption.

The success of this laudable effort will depend on four factors: public cooperation, efficient verification of a complaint, the action taken on the problem, and sustainability of the campaign. Other agencies such as the Commission on Elections have used texting and social media in previous years to fight anomalies. The campaigns lost steam when many complaints elicited little action.

With the President’s track record for tough action, the anti-corruption hotline is likely to receive an avid response from the public. While he has repeatedly said he wants processing time for ordinary public transactions with government to be concluded within three working days, which is the case in Davao City, red tape persists nationwide in both national and local agencies.

Perhaps livelihoods are at stake: red tape has long provided opportunities for collecting grease money. Fire inspectors, for example, have been among the biggest causes of delays in processing business permits and licenses. There are fire inspectors who run lucrative enterprises selling fire extinguishers, sitting on inspection requests and clearances of establishments that don’t buy the items from them. Barangay officials, thousands of whom have been linked to drug deals, have also imposed layers of unnecessary, redundant fees for many activities.

Perhaps public servants are too lazy and set in their ways to obey even the President in cutting red tape. Or perhaps it’s sheer incompetence, and simplifying procedures is beyond the capabilities of some government employees.

Whatever the reason, the President will have a chance to find out once his new television program is launched on PTV 4. Several hotlines must be installed to accommodate the expected influx of complaints. The Office of the President must have the capability to screen prank texts and quickly verify a complaint, because denials can be expected. Once a complaint is verified, response must be swift.

Appropriate administrative penalties must also be imposed, with criminal charges initiated if warranted. Beyond public shaming, punishing the corrupt is the best way to end impunity.