"The probe could not come at a better time."
"The probe could not come at a better time."
President Duterte has apparently realized, as some of us must have, that the one thing this whole COVID-19 pandemic failed to change thus far is the pervasive corruption in the government.
The horror of painful deaths of 7,114 in the Philippines and over one million worldwide, and the chaotic, devastating months of lockdown have drastically altered our modes of daily living.
Amid the worsening public health crisis, virulent corruption continues to prevail at all levels of government over the decades, evidently widespread and deeply-rooted in the Filipino culture of impunity.
Intent on leaving a legacy of “clean government,” the President ordered the creation of the “Mega Task Force” headed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to crack down on corrupt and graft practices in the entire bureaucracy.
Unimpeachable sources told me it’s the brainchild of no other than Senator Christopher “Bong” Go to close ranks on various agencies to answer the compelling need for a massive and concerted effort against overwhelming corruption.
The Mega Task Force would initially involve six agencies including: National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), Office of the Special Adviser to the President (OSAP), National Prosecution Service (NPS), and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). It will duly coordinate with the Office of the Ombudsman and the Civil Service Commission.
DOJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra, who heads the task force going after the mafia in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), will also spearhead Mega Task Force.
“We will look into the significant transactions and, if we find something wrong, it won’t matter who is involved. We will not turn a blind eye on anything,” said DOJ Sec. Menardo Guevarra yesterday on my radio-TV interview with him.
To hear the Justice Secretary say that is such a welcome development because the question that instantly lurked in one’s mind about the creation of yet another task force was: Will there be no sacred cows or untouchables?
Corruption, needless to say, has thrived on “selective justice” in the previous administrations.
The President’s critics were quick to point out he has his own sacred cows, particularly in the case of multi-billion peso PhilHealth anomalies tolerated by the state insurer’s Board of Directors for years.
We can only hope that the Mega Task Force would disprove that claim.
Secretary Guevarra listed at least five government entities that had gained notoriety in the past years to begin with, namely PhilHealth, Department of Public Works and Highways, the Bureau of Customs (BoC), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Land Registration Authority (LRA).
The DOJ chief said the task force will coordinate with the leadership of both houses of the 18th Congress if they find the need to investigate any involvement of lawmakers.
ACT-CIS Party-list Eric Yap, House Appropriations Committee chair, said he and his colleagues strongly welcome the President’s challenge for all the government to turn a new leaf.
“We support the call of the President’s renewed drive against corruption, like those smugglers and illegal drug traffickers in the Bureau of Customs and the thieves in Duty-Free Philippines,” said Yap.
The lawmaker said the Chief Executive’s initiative could not come at a better time as the House transmitted on Monday the P4.5-trillion 2021 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) to the Senate.
Manong Digong has made it clear that next year’s whopping P4.5 trillion national budget, a year leading to the 2022 national elections, should be used effectively for the vaccination of the Filipinos against the dreaded COVID-19.
It’s the job of the anti-corruption Mega Task Force to ensure that happens instead of ending up in the hands of the politicians so they could buy votes in the upcoming polls.