3 Cabinet members deserve chance to answer corruption charges

Panelo, who is also Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, said that even his own office makes it a point to ask government agencies or officials facing complaints a chance to respond. (File Photo: Office of the Presidential Spokesperson/Facebook)

MANILA — The three Cabinet officials tagged as involved in corruption should have been given a chance to respond to allegations before being exposed, Malacañang said on Tuesday after the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) bared the names of the three subjects.

PACC Commissioner Manuelito Luna earlier announced that his agency is investigating Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, former Bureau of Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña and National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Chairman Leonor Oralde-Quintayo for alleged corruption.

Bello, in an interview, said he will ask President Rodrigo R. Duterte to dismiss Luna since he was not given a copy of any complaint against him and only heard about it in news reports.

In a Palace briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said he agreed with Bello that Luna should have given the Labor chief a chance to respond before disclosing his name.

“If you ask me as a lawyer, dapat bigyan muna ng pagkakataon yung dini-demanda mo (you should have given the person who you filed a complaint against a chance to explain),” Panelo said.

Panelo, who is also Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, said that even his own office makes it a point to ask government agencies or officials facing complaints a chance to respond.

“In my office where we receive complaints against a particular agency or particular government official, ang ginagawa namin, pinapadala ko dun sa (what we do is we send it to the) person concerned or agency concerned, ‘O, may reklamo dito, please respond (There’s a complaint here, please respond),’” Panelo said.

Panelo said the PACC Commissioner should not have immediately divulged the corruption complaints against the three Cabinet officials because results could find the complaint without basis.

“Di mo dapat ilalabas kaagad yun kasi (You should not immediately release that) otherwise you might be unnecessarily maligning a reputation na walang (without) basis eventually,” Panelo said.

Panelo, however, said that if Bello will request the President to remove Luna from office, it was his own call.

“Then that’s the call of Sec. Bello, that will be his wish to the President. Si Presidente ang kinakampihan lang yung nasa tama (The President only sides with what’s right),” Panelo said.

Earlier, Panelo said that Palace will await results of PACC’s investigation before the President will act on it.

He also assured that there will be no sacred cows under the Duterte administration.

“You violate the law regardless of your status whether you’re a friend or ally or a political adversary or a relative or a friend or a fraternity brod, wala lahat ‘yun (it won’t matter). You violate the law, you are accountable,” Panelo said.