Reporting corrupt gov’t officials just text away: Palace

If you have complaints or grievances about corrupt, lazy, or incompetent government officials, all you have to do now is text, Malacañang said Thursday. (File Photo by ROBIN WORRALL/Unsplash)

MANILA – If you have complaints or grievances about corrupt, lazy, or incompetent government officials, all you have to do now is text, Malacañang said Thursday.

Globe Telecom Inc. (Globe) recently announced that the 8888 Citizens Complaint Center (CCC) now accepts complaints or grievances through short message system (SMS) or text message.

The 8888 CCC receives complaints and grievances from the public and in turn endorses these to relevant government departments or agencies for immediate action.

“Those who are corrupt, lazy, incompetent in the government, be forewarned. You are now one text away,” Roque said in a statement.

Roque said the new platform or communication channel, which had its soft launch last November 3, would give a boost to the good governance drive of the Duterte administration.

“Citizens can now simply text 8888 from both Globe and Smart and their affiliate telcos and raise their concerns, complaints and grievances on graft and corrupt practices by government officials and employees and slow and inefficient delivery of government services and requests for government assistance — free of charge,” he said.

In a separate statement, Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu commended the Office of the President (OP) and urged its customers to support the government’s initiative.

“We commend the Office of the President in providing the public another opportunity to send in their concerns, and for the government to answer them right away or guide them towards the national government agency best suited to address their concerns,” Cu said.

On Monday night, President Rodrigo Duterte urged the public to report corruption activities and other anomalies within government.

He said informants did not need to give names as mentioning the department, agency, or office was enough.

In 2018, the Duterte administration also launched the Emergency 911 Hotline as the nationwide emergency answering point, replacing Patrol 117 to conform to international standards through Executive Order (EO) No. 56.

The Emergency 911 National Hotline Call Center will be under the supervision of the Department of the Interior and Local Government with local government units enjoined to establish and run their respective local 911 call centers.

The Bureau of Fire Protection and the Philippine National Police will be the primary service respondents of the “911” to be supported by at least 10 other government agencies and accredited non-government organizations.

All Emergency 911 calls shall be free of charge but all fraudulent, hoax or prank reports “shall be dealt with in accordance with existing and applicable laws.”