DOJ to use SALNs in DOTr corruption probe

FILE: SENATE HEARING. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra says he is set to issue an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order against nearly 2,000 heinous crimes convicts who were freed early due to the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law. Guevarra was one of the resource persons during the continuation of the Senate inquiry on the controversial implementation of the GCTA law on Thursday (Sept. 5, 2019). (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA – Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday said the Task Force against Corruption (TFAC) would use the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of officials in investigating possible graft and corrupt practices in the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

In a message to reporters, Guevarra clarified “the submission by the DOTr of the SALNs of its officials and employees to the task force is purely the DOTr’s initiative”.

“(Transportation) Secretary Arthur Tugade mentioned this matter of submitting SALNs of DOTr officials to the DOJ task force during one of our meetings with the president. The task force will use SALNs showing assets which are grossly disproportionate to salaries as possible indicators of graft and corruption in the course of investigating officials or employees of the DOTr alleged to be involved in certain corrupt practices,” Guevarra said.

The DOJ said they may need the SALN of any government official or employee only if he or she is involved in a specific investigation being conducted by the task force.
“We are not requiring other agencies to submit the SALNs of their officials and employees to the TFAC, as we know where to get them should the need for the production of SALNs arise,” he added.

Meanwhile, Guevarra said the Office of the Ombudsman is still studying the possibility of assigning resident ombudsmen in government offices or if some other similar arrangements could be adopted.

In line with the DOTr’s cooperation in the anti-graft probe, Tugade earlier ordered all the heads of agencies and other DOTr officials to submit their SALNs to the DOJ-led task force.

The order includes officials’ chief-of-staff, secretaries, executive assistants, and those involved in project management and procurement.

Tugade said he has already assigned a group and a point person who will gather and review the SALNs of all DOTr officials, past and present, including his SALN.

He has also directed the comparison of submission for three periods of the SALN or three years to find out if there is a substantial difference between the periods.

Since 2016, Tugade has been implementing strict anti-corruption policies and measures in the agency.

He has directed the DOTr Central Office and all agencies under it to live stream the bidding process for transparency. Also, meetings with contractors have been forbidden during the conduct of the bidding process to prevent bribery and undue influence. He has further ordered the publication of bidding processes conducted.

Further, he has ordered the strict adherence to the “No Gift Policy” he instituted since day one of his administration, only allowing electronic greetings for occasions since physical greeting cards may be used to insert money for bribes.

As of last year, 20 personnel have been relieved, 17 have been suspended, and 128 have been dismissed from the service for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

True to his maxim that no one is untouchable when it comes to weeding out corrupt practices in the agencies under the DOTr, those dismissed and suspended include not only rank-and-file employees but even middle managers or chiefs, and top brass in the Central Office and agencies, with cases ranging from fixing activities, involvement in payola, to receiving fees, gifts or other valuable items in the course of official duties.

This year, five dismissed employees belong to the division chief and director levels.

Further, in November alone, four employees have been preventively suspended due to an ongoing case of grave misconduct, and a job order employee was immediately terminated. These cases have been reported to the Office of the President.