How Do You "Withdraw" A Signature?

I really don't understand this one. For the last few days I've been reading about the recently dismissed graft case involving Ronaldo Puno, the former Interior Secretary. I'm not too interested in the case itself because, unfortunately, such cases are a dime a dozen around here. But one of the key points in the case caught my eye. According to news reports, the secretary signed a a government contract, and then later "withdrew" his signature! How the hell can you do that? As I understand the law, once a legal document is signed by the proper official/s, it becomes effective. There are several legal ways to rescind, abrogate, cancel, or otherwise render a document void, but I don't know of any provision under any country's laws that allows an official to "withdraw" his signature. It just can't be done. This is one of the reasons that government approvals take so long in the first place...so that government attorneys and other experts can study an issue and raise objections before a document is signed.

This is why foreign business is so hesitant to come to the Philippines. Documents and contracts have to be treated with almost sacred respect. Before I spend a million dollars (or a hundred million) putting up a business in your country, I have to know that the agreements, which were made binding by our signatures, cannot be broken or cancelled on a whim. The Ninoy Aquino Airport fiasco is a case in point. The contract may have been corrupt as hell, and drastically disadvantageous to the Philippines, but it was legally and properly signed. That formal, legal agreement has to be honored. Now, that's not to say that the country has to accept a loss in such situations. First of all, even while honoring the contract, government can still file charges against anyone who committed a crime by negotiating an illegal agreement. And then pressure can be brought to bear on the other parties to renegotiate the terms of the contract. Faced with a professional, and public, challenge, they may be forced to strike a more honest deal.

I've heard of several instances where a contract was cancelled, or a signature "withdrawn". But that's just not the way honest business is done. This applies to any document, not just contracts. Whether it's in international business or in a small local deal, we must obey a set of common ethics if this country is ever going to move forward. We have to grow up.