10 Measures to Eliminate Government Corruption!

By Franklin D. Lopez, former United Press International and The Associated Press Newswriter

Forty-four years ago I met the Director of the Rhode Island State Commission on Conflict of Interest. She was a commissioner with me on the President’s Commission to select candidates for the position of The First Circuit Judge. Over coffee at the commission sessions, she told me about her work in the State of Rhode Island as Executive Director of the Commission on Governmental Conflict of Interest. I was so interested in the subject that I was able to prepare a draft project to create a Commission in Puerto Rico at a time when the government of Puerto Rico did not have the Office of Public Integrity in the Department of Justice; nor the Office of the Special Independent Prosecutor; nor the Office of Government Ethics. There was only the Office of the Comptroller. The bill was filed by petition but did not manage to escape or come out of a forgotten drawer. La Fortaleza instructed it to go to the sleep of the just.The Governor sent then Secretary of State and friend Reynaldo Paniagua Diez to ask me to calm down.

Yesterday afternoon while listening to an interview with Representative Hector E. Ferrer Santiago about government corruption I was motivated to write this commentary. The Pontifical University of Ponce (the Catholic University) made public a study on the fatal impact to the public treasury of government corruption, Puerto Rico loses every year more than $534 million dollars a year. The Comptroller’s Office has estimated that the loss due to corruption, misspending and mismanagement is calculated at more than $1.2 billion annually. The effect of government corruption goes beyond monetary loss. When it occurs, the governed (the people) begin to lose faith in their democratic institutions. Faith in elected officials is lost; faith in justice is lost, in other words, fuel is poured to weaken the foundations of democracy. For that reason and the passivity and lack of interest of the people in reacting and acting on corruption, we had the misfortune of having bankrupted the government. And soon will come the bankruptcies of the municipalities. In order to fuel a public debate on how to eradicate it, I present 10 Measures to Eradicate Corruption.

I- Executive Branch

If the legislature truly wants to eradicate corruption and the effort is one of commitment to “Puerto Rico First Always” it must adopt these measures. Every Cabinet Member, agency head, director of government programs with an annual budget of one million or more shall submit to the Office of Transparency and Public Integrity of the Office of the Comptroller his or her last 5 years of payroll and a financial statement audited by a certified public accountant. The official must submit a financial statement annually and at the end of his or her term of office. An official who is convicted of government corruption will be required to make restitution for the impact of monies subject to corruption and pay interest of not less than 20 percent per annum. The official may not hold a governmental position for a period of 10 years nor may he/she aspire to an elective position.

No relative of the governor shall hold any paid or unpaid position that gives him or her access to privileged information. And shall be subject to (A) the most stringent integrity and transparency measures.

Legislation shall be enacted to create the Division of Public Integrity and Transparency within the office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico. Legislation shall be enacted to provide the resources and powers to the Office of the Comptroller to file and prosecute cases against corruption in the Courts of Justice, including the Judiciary.

The Governor and the Executive Branch pledge to allocate the necessary resources to eradicate government corruption.

II-Judiciary

In Puerto Rico, corruption as a pandemic has corrupted not only the executive branch but also the judicial branch. The Office of Government Integrity and Transparency shall have the powers and resources to bring cases against judges, lawyers and judicial branch officials involved in acts of corruption. Judges and judicial candidates will be required to file their last 5 income tax returns and financial statements. Before being appointed and annually, they shall submit their financial statements, which shall be made public on the website of the Office of the Comptroller.

III-Legislative Branch.

Every citizen aspiring to a municipal or island legislator position shall submit the last 5 years of income tax returns. If elected, a financial statement prepared by a CPA must be submitted annually. Also at the end of his or her term as legislator. His/her financial condition shall be posted on the website of the Legislature. Any elected citizen-legislator convicted of corruption, regardless of the amount and damages of his acts, may not aspire to any elective position during his natural life. Upon conviction, he/she must return the amounts of money involved and pay them at 20% interest. This provision shall apply to those elected citizens who improperly use the monies collected for their election for their personal pecuniary use.

No legislator shall accept gifts, luncheons and cash donations from any citizen or interest group attempting to influence legislative measures or government program.

IV- Political

Any person convicted of making cash donations in excess of one thousand dollars or using subterfuge to cover up illegal money in campaigns for any elective office shall suffer a mandatory sentence of 10 years and repay the dark money donated with a 20% annual tax. The Government of Puerto Rico will reform the Election Fund so that it will be funded by tax donations made on income tax returns up to a maximum of $100 per tax year (See the Seattle Plan).

The Comptroller’s office will develop an ongoing program of education and transparency and anti-corruption measures that all public officials will be mandated to take.

V- Government Reforms

The Governor and the legislature are committed to amend the political code to achieve the following objectives:

a) Place limitations on the terms on which a citizen may serve in elected positions:

VI- Limitations on Elective Positions.

Governor: two terms; municipal or territorial legislators: three terms. Mayors: three terms. The children of governors or mayors shall be prohibited to replace them in office without a 4-year separation of time.

Legislature: 2/3rds of the elective offices of the territorial legislature shall be elected in the year in which the governor of Puerto Rico is elected. 1/3 shall be elected in a year other than the year in which the governor is elected.

Superior and appellate judgeships shall be for a fixed term of 12 years and may not be renominated for additional terms.

VII-Elections

The cost of government corruption is estimated to be between $524 million and $1,200 per year. The Government of Puerto Rico will reform the Electoral Fund so that the positions for Governor, territorial or municipal legislators, and mayors will be financed entirely from tax donations made by citizens in their income tax returns.

Governor: $10 million per candidate of a party that has obtained 15 percent or more of votes in its first election.

Legislator per district: $75,000.00

Legislator by accumulation $150,000.00

Municipal Legislator $25,000.00

The cost of financing elections with public funds is much less than the loss of $524 million in acts of corruption.

VIII-Public Administration

All government contracts for services or products of $50,000 or more should be processed through public auctions and reviewed by an Auction Board composed of 9 citizens representing all major political parties. Their appointments shall be staggered 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 years.

Any company or citizen convicted of acts of corruption in the awarding of service contracts or purchase of materials for any government agency shall not be allowed to participate in any public auction during its natural life.

IX- Political Campaigns

Political campaigns shall be conducted within a window of time to disseminate advertisement and seek citizen support for a period of 120 days. Starting on July 1st until the day of the election.

X-Criminal Code

No acts of government corruption will have a statute of limitations or time limitation.

The fight goes on and the cause endures. We have just begun to fight!