No government is ever perfect. One of the chief virtues of democracy, however, is that its defects are always visible and under democratic processes can be pointed out and corrected. -- US President Harry S. Truman 

The World Bank has every right to be upset.

And the Corona-led Supreme Court has every right to be ashamed.

The SC has been found out to be neither a good custodian nor a prudent spender of borrowed funds.

One would assume that being the highest tribunal in the land, the SC  must also be  the seat of fiscal correctness.

It turned out it is not, a finding which the WB deems unacceptable.    

In fact, it wants a refund  -- get this -- by the end of this month of a portion of its $21.9-million (P953.3-million) loan to the SC. This, after a review uncovered the misuse of funds meant to support judicial reforms.

A WB memorandum to the government said its review late last year found that the checks-and-balance mechanisms under the Judicial Reform Support Project had been impaired since mid-2010.

A copy of the WB  report released on Wednesday by the Department of Finance showed that the bank  sought a refund of $199,900 in “ineligible expenditures” by January 31.

The bank described the JRSP as a “high-risk” project and said its financial statements “can no longer be relied upon” (read: doubtful).

A Palace  media briefer on the WB report summed up the findings and drew attention to what it called the project’s “downward trajectory” starting in mid-2010 under Corona’s watch. The JRSP was approved in August 2003.     The briefer also highlighted the report’s six main findings on the implementation of the JRSP -- unreliable financial statements, unsatisfactory management style, the use of WB funds for ineligible transactions, self-serving internal audit, lack of segregation of duties, and procurement irregularities. Ouch!

For its part, the DoF called on the SC to punish those responsible for the misuse of funds.

“Fiscal autonomy is a privilege granted to an institution to preserve its independence,” the DoF said. “It cannot be used, however, to shirk from public accountability and hide the truth from the sovereign people, which we all serve.”

It said: “We are all stewards of the people’s money. For the sake of truth and accountability, the leadership of the (Supreme Court) must … explain to the public how they have used the funds which they have held in trust for the Filipino people,” the DoF said.

“The WB mission’s report points to serious deficiencies in the implementation of the project, and we request the leadership of the (High Court) to swiftly respond to these observations.”

The WB’s observations, the department stressed, “point to systemic problems in the SC’s finances”.

DoF officials, including Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, were among those provided with “carbon copies” of the WB report dated Dec. 28, 2011 and addressed to SC Associate Justice Teresita L. de Castro.

Purisima urged Corona to address the findings of the WB and penalize those responsible for the alleged misuse of funds loaned to the SC.

He said Corona should not simply dismiss the result of the WB mission as “sheer politicking”.

“The refusal of the Chief Justice to be accountable for transactions done from mid-2010 to 2011 is tantamount to negligence of duty. The leadership of the SC owes it to the Filipino people to identify and penalize all those responsible for this breach in the disbursement of loan proceeds,” he said.

The WB earlier acknowledged the document’s existence but had not released it to the public.

* * *

Ped Xing could only imagine the depths of their disappointment.

Critics of the Aquino administration failed to witness what they expected to see in the President with the start of the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona at the Senate.

They were looking forward to see P-Noy meddling in the trial, but to their dismay, he was not even paying attention to the daily proceedings.

It was learned  that the President did not even bother to watch the sessions live on TV.

This says it all to me: The guy is not taking it personally.

He was simply convinced that Corona was wrongfully installed by former president Gloria Arroyo to his exalted judicial post.

Many see the impeachment trial  as a sovereign exercise in a functioning democracy with the Chief Executive taking a backseat and allowing the Senate to execute its constitutional duty to decide Corona’s fitness to remain in office or not.

The President has decidedly a lot on his plate – not only domestic problems but also international concerns.

This is why while many were monitoring the impeachment trial, P-Noy hit the road to check out regional developments.

At the same time, he was able to welcome high-profile visitors from the US and Thailand.