ZAMBOANGA CITY—She is running under the banner of “Gobyernong may Puso” but Senator Grace Poe said Sunday she will have no heart for corrupt government officials if she wins the presidency in this year’s elections.
“It should be one strike out whoever commits a crime while in the government—whether they are government officials or policemen,” Poe said.
“This is because the people depend on you. How could they depend on you if you are involved in an anomaly?”
Poe made her statement even as vice presidential candidate Francis Escudero expressed hope that the Supreme Court would rule on her favor when it decides on her petitions to reverse two Commission on Elections decisions canceling her Certificate of Candidacy due to alleged false material representations and lack of residency.
The Supreme Court decides on Poe’s petitions on March 9.
Poe said should be a speedy disposition of justice and the guilty put in jail once a crime was committed.
She said those found guilty of corruption or involvement in anomalies must be held accountable and imprisoned.
She said she would appoint to her Cabinet competent and honest people. Her administration would not tolerate officials who could not be examples of good governance.
She repeated the need to immediately pass the Freedom of Information bill to enhance fiscal transparency in government.
The bill, of which Poe was a principal sponsor, was passed by the Senate in March 2014 but is still awaiting second reading in the House of Representatives. It is not likely to pass in the 16th Congress, but Poe said her first executive order, if elected, would be to implement the FOI in the executive agencies.
She said this would give the public the arms and the media the right to scrutinize government transactions. She noted that under the present system, it always took time for one to get a copy of the contract for a particular project.
Poe said she would also strengthen the Commission on Audit.
“We really need to strengthen CoA. It is really important to place in the CoA people who can be trusted,” she said.
Poe and Escudero, her running mate, also vowed to lead by example by going to work early and never stealing from the people.
Poe said she would move to make the Philippine National Police a well-equipped and well-disciplined agency.
Her administration would give Mindanao a bigger share of the national budget to help the island.
She renewed her administration’s promise to allot 30 percent of the national budget to Mindanao to fuel its development.
Poe cited the need to support farmers.
She urged the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and Industry to help farmers improve their production and to market their produce.
