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Task force gets 140 complaints

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The Department of Justice-led Task Force Against Corruption has received 144 complaints, most of them involving public works projects, an official said Thursday.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra made the disclosure even as he admitted that he submitted on Dec. 28, 2020, a progress report to President Rodrigo Duterte on the corruption cases being investigated by the task force.

Guevarra, who heads the task force, said they had evaluated 60 of the 144 complaints filed as of Jan. 11.

He says the task force is investigating the alleged “massive corruption” at the First District Engineering Office in Northern Samar and the alleged ghost deliveries of rice and fuel in Capalonga, Camarines Norte.

The task force is also probing the alleged irregularities in the procurement of heavy equipment and the illegal disbursement of Bayanihan funds in Cateel, Davao Oriental, and the alleged irregular bidding, bribery and extortion in the 3rd District engineering office in Cagayan.

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Guevarra said more complaints, including those on the alleged anomalous construction of two bridges in the same place, were still being evaluated by the task force’s Operations Center.

He said the progress report did not yet contain the recommendations for the prosecution of government officials.

“We are not yet at that stage. We are still in the fact-finding and verification of the allegations in the complaints. Some of them may be politically motivated,” Guevarra said in a text message to reporters.

He also said the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission had expressed willingness to turn over to the task force its investigation of corruption in public works projects, where some members of the House of Representatives had been implicated “for further investigation and case build-up.”

Guevarra earlier said the task force would give priority to investigating corruption cases in Philippine Health Insurance Corp., the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Bureau of Customs, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Land Registration Authority.

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