Manila, Sept. 11 -- Senators Erwin Tulfo and Loren Legarda have filed separate but complementary measures seeking to strengthen the government's fight against corruption through stiffer penalties and preventive, systems-based reforms.

Tulfo said Thursday that he filed Senate Bill 1359, which proposes to increase the jail time for graft and corruption cases from the current six to 15 years to 12 to 30 years, saying betrayal of public trust must carry severe consequences.

He also pushed for amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act to allow courts and investigating bodies to scrutinize bank transactions of public officials, and for a Freedom of Information (FOI) law that mandates the online publication of Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and N...