Diokno wants recovery of ill-gotten wealth easy

Veteran human rights lawyer and now lawmaker Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno has filed a measure that would make it significantly easier for Filipinos to hold corrupt public officials accountable and recover unlawfully acquired assets.

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Diokno, who represents Akbayan party-list, led opposition lawmakers in filing House Bill 6619, which would allow ordinary citizens to initiate civil actions instead of the more stringent criminal complaints against officials suspected of amassing ill-gotten wealth, provided the assets in question have been identified.

“The unique remedy of civil forfeiture has the potential to expedite accountability from errant and corrupt public officers. In refining this legislation, we aim to strengthen the mandated trust between our public officials and the Filipino people,” Diokno said.