House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez on Wednesday said the Department of Justice (DOJ) had a duty to give legislators tagged by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) a forum to face their accusers and defend themselves.
“We are hopeful that the DoJ will double-check and assess thoroughly the list submitted by the PACC to President Duterte, to verify which of these charges have basis and which are mere products of the imaginative minds of rival politicians,” Romualdez said.
“We do not wish that the President’s war against corruption gets sidetracked by polluted sources who are engaged in local partisan politics,” he added.
He also said the President is serious in getting rid of corruption in the last remaining years of his term.
“Let us support him and stand with him in this crusade,” Romualdez said.
One of the nine lawmakers tagged by the PACC said the agency had no basis for accusing her of receiving kickbacks.
Isabela 4th District Rep. Alyssa Sheena Tan said “there is absolutely no truth in the allegations” that she owns construction companies which were awarded with projects in her district.
“I have never owned any construction company. I do not have any shares in any construction company,” Tan said, saying this could be easily verified.
Tan vowed to cooperate with the PACC in its investigation.