PRRD wants due process observed on 2 execs linked to corruption

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte holds a press conference at the Malacañan Palace on November 19, 2019. VALERIE ESCALERA/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Tuesday maintained that the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) should give due process to the two Cabinet secretaries who have been linked to corruption.

Duterte, a former prosecutor, said he has yet to see the results of the PACC probe, but vowed to fire the two Cabinet members if proven guilty of corrupt activities.

“Nakita ko na (I have seen it) and they are investigating. I have yet to have the result. Alam ko na kasi sa briefer ko, nabasa ko (I know about it because I have read it in my briefer),” he said in a media interview in Malacañan Palace on Tuesday night.

The President said he usually summons public officials accused of corruption to his office before deciding on his next move.

“I should know, actually, if you are corrupt. Kasi ipapatawag kita dito sa opisina (Because I will summon you to my office) and we will have a one-on-one talk,” he said. “Kasi kung meron, I’ll fire you. Sigurado ‘yan (Because if there is, I’ll fire you. That’s for sure). But let us observe due process.”

Last week, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte would validate the allegations against two of his Cabinet members once he receives a report from PACC.

On August 14, PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica revealed that two incumbent Cabinet secretaries are under investigation for alleged corruption.
Belgica said complaints submitted to PACC prompted separate investigations against the two Cabinet officials.

One of the complaints was filed by an official of the Cabinet Secretary’s department while the other case was filed by a private citizen, he said.

Belgica declined to name the Cabinet secretaries, pending the result of the investigations.

A report from the PACC would be transmitted to Duterte once the anti-corruption body completes the investigations.

The PACC conducts a lifestyle check and investigates about 200 officials from agencies with the most corruption complaints — the Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Transportation, and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.