Exposing Kleptocracy: Unconstitutional Budgets, Illicit Gains, Eroding Public Trust

Exposing Kleptocracy: Unconstitutional Budgets, Illicit Gains, Eroding Public Trust

By Bing Jabadan – TheNATIONWEEK.com | October 24, 2026

MANILA, Philippines – Retired Supreme Court Justice Noel Gimenez Tijam delivers a scathing indictment of systemic corruption within the government, specifically targeting the manipulation of national budgets. His pronouncements echo the stark warning that “a thief caught stealing cannot invoke the defense that he had already spent all of the money stolen,” dissecting the insidious mechanisms of illicit public fund appropriation and the dangerous rationalizations employed by defenders.

Justice Tijam asserts that “irregularly inflated, unprogrammed appropriations,” when surreptitiously inserted and disbursed in violation of established guidelines, constitute outright theft from public coffers. While unprogrammed funds are designated for priority programs and unforeseen projects, their egregious inflation, often exceeding recommended appropriations and introduced stealthily, transforms them into breeding grounds for graft and corruption. Such expenditures, particularly when linked to documented fictitious, non-existent, or defective public works projects, are “crimes committed in plain sight and in flagrante delicto.”

The retired Justice recounts chilling testimony from “brave marines” who detailed the delivery of “suitcases full of cash to identified politicians and personages amounting to billions of pesos orchestrated by some congressional leaders.” This explosive revelation, initially investigated by Congress but later discontinued due to the extensive involvement of its own members, underscores the pervasive nature of this corruption. Tijam emphasizes that had unprogrammed appropriations been rigorously monitored, transparently accounted for, and not abused, these crimes would not have occurred.

He vehemently rejects the “utterly ridiculous and absurd” defense put forth by “apologists, propagandists, and defenders” of the 2024 and 2025 national budgets—budgets whose unprogrammed appropriations and “sneaky surreptitious insertions” were recently declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The argument that “nothing illegal” transpired simply because the funds were spent is dismissed as “a malicious form of gaslighting,” a “cognitive dissonance of a criminal mind.”

Justice Tijam unequivocally states: Unconstitutional budgetary expenditures are illegal.

When the Supreme Court declares specific appropriations unconstitutional, spending under those voided provisions becomes unauthorized and unlawful. Crucially, public officials, lawmakers, and implementers involved in proposing, authoring, or executing unconstitutional budget items “can still face criminal, civil, or administrative liabilities.” The “doctrine of operative fact,” while protecting past transactions made in good faith, does not shield culpable officials from accountability. The very discussion of individual liability within the High Court’s decision, Tijam argues, “demands accountability and decreed liability from culpable public officials.” He concludes with a resolute declaration: “There is no immunity from illegal and unconstitutional acts.”

Drawing on profound observations from various thinkers, Justice Tijam highlights the core motivations behind such pervasive corruption:

• Fear as a Corrupting Force: Aung San Suu Kyi’s insight that “fear—both of losing power and of those who wield it—is the true corrupting force.”
• Corruption as a Destructive Cancer: Joe Biden’s description of corruption as “a destructive cancer that erodes democratic faith and stifles innovation.”
• Systemic Greed: Suzy Kassem’s observation that “a system becomes corrupt when profit replaces the best interest of the people.”

Justice Tijam concludes with a stark warning that corrupt politicians, “who neither fear God nor the law,” are unlikely to reform. He asserts that “greed is embedded in their DNA and will flow in their bloodline until karmic justice and divine retribution catch them.” Despite the current despair, he offers a glimmer of hope: “Everything comes to an end. Evil doesn’t last forever.” This powerful condemnation serves as a clarion call for transparency, accountability, and the urgent restoration of integrity in public service.

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