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Friday, March 29, 2024

Corruption in DPWH tops tip-off list

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Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday said the Department of Justice-led Anti-Corruption Task Force has received many complaints, the majority of them involving projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

“As of today (Monday), around 20 complaints… many involve DPWH-related projects,” Guevarra said in a text message to reporters.

“But not all these pertain to transactions or projects worth at least P1 billion,” he added.

Guevarra, who was ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte to investigate corruption in the entire government, had identified the DPWH as one of five agencies to be prioritized in the investigation, along with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Bureau of Customs, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the Land Registration Authority.

However, Duterte has appeared to have trusted Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, saying the official is too rich to be corrupt. He said he believes corruption takes place in the lower offices instead.

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The DOJ chief stressed that the President’s statement does not exempt Secretary Villar from the task force investigation.

Guevarra said the task force operations center is now filtering and processing the complaints as they come in.

Guevarra previously said the task force is using the P1 billion threshold as a "guideline" in setting its priorities on which government transactions or projects to investigate.

"We will also investigate complaints about corrupt practices involving smaller amounts of money but with high impact on the delivery of government service to the people," he pointed out.

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