Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra (TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO /MANILA BULLETIN)
“As of Jan. 11, 2021, the task force had received 144 complaints and had evaluated 60, mostly involving alleged anomalies in public works projects in the regions,” Guevarra said.
These four corrupt activities being investigated are the alleged massive corruption at the first district engineering office in Northern Samar; alleged ghost deliveries of rice and fuel in Capalonga, Camarines Norte; alleged anomalous procurement of heavy equipment and illegal disbursement of Bayanihan funds in Cateel, Davao Oriental; and alleged irregular bidding, bribery, and extortion at the third district engineering office in Cagayan.
“The amount of funds involved ranges from a few million pesos to hundreds of million pesos,” Guevarra said.
(OVP / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
President Duterte bared the names of former and current lawmakers who allegedly received kickbacks from the government’s public works projects.
They were in the list provided by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) that supposedly cropped up from its investigation, although Duterte admitted he has no evidence of such allegations.
“Ang sa akin, ang tanong ko nga, kung wala namang hard evidence, bakit kailangang pangalanan?” she asked during her radio show, “BISErbisyong Leni.”
(For me, my question is, why should they be named if there was no hard evidence?)
The vice president said that a thorough investigation should be conducted to prove the lawmakers are indeed guilty of corruption.
Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Romualdez’s call differed with that of Speaker Lord Allan Velasco who wanted the Office of the Ombudsman to look into the PACC report that was submitted to President Duterte.
However, the two House leaders agree that PACC has failed to accord the solons due process before implicating them to alleged graft and corrupt practices in the implementation of infrastructure projects.
“Pursuant to due process, we believe that the matter should be brought before the Ombudsman, given the limited jurisdiction of the PACC over officials in the Executive Branch, and not those in the legislature,” Velasco said in a press statement.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra (TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO /MANILA BULLETIN)
Guevarra gave the assurance after the President identified the nine during a televised public address Monday night based on the report submitted by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) to the Office of the President (OP).
“I’m not sure if the PACC report to the President is complete by itself (I have not seen it) and is ready for filing with the Office of the Ombudsman,” the secretary said.
“If not, the OP may refer the report to the DOJ Task Force Against Corruption for validation, further investigation, or case build-up,” he said.
Published December 29, 2020, 11:04 AM
After President Duterte took his corruption allegations publicly against members of the Liberal Party, the opposition said it was a diversionary tactic used by the current administration to sidetrack discussions on issues of national interest.
In a statement, the Liberal Party stood by its members who Duterte accused of corruption during his weekly address to the nation on Monday night. The President, however, admitted that he has no evidence of such allegations.
“Matitino at mahuhusay ang mga binanggit niyang kasapi ng Partido (The members of the Party that the president mentioned are all good and competent). They have won mandates in various elections because of the trust of their constituencies. They have been recognized for their service. They continue to help and serve however they can, regardless of whether they currently hold office or not,” the LP said.