MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Vice President will not be spared from any investigation by the task force created by President Duterte to probe corruption in the entire bureaucracy, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said yesterday.
“If there is complaint about any corruption, yes,” Guevarra, head of Task Force Against Corruption (TFAC), said when asked if the Vice President Leni Robredo’s office would be included in the list of government offices set to be investigated for irregularities. Duterte ordered the creation of the task force supposedly to rid the bureaucracy of misfits before the end of his term in 2022.
But Guevarra clarified that there is no order from Malacañang to initiate an investigation of Robredo’s office. Robredo is head of the opposition Liberal Party.
In his weekly televised address late Tuesday, Duterte accused Robredo of making it appear to the public – especially on social media – that he was nowhere to be found during the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses and other recent weather disturbances.
The Vice President, who was spearheading relief operations in typhoon-ravaged areas, had never made such claim.
Members of the TFAC are the Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Audit, Civil Service Commission, Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Office of the Special Assistant to the President.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the National Prosecution Service are also part of the TFAC.
The task force will prioritize offices considered most tainted by corruption – Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs.
The Land Registration Authority, an attached agency of the DOJ, and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. will also be given extra attention.
DOJ spokesperson Emmeline Aglipay-Villar said the operations center secretariat of the TFAC and the action centers of the DOJ are still consolidating the complaints filed against various government agencies.
She said that there has been a sudden increase in complaints filed since the opening of the action centers. “Estimated number is more than 60 already,” she added.
She has inhibited herself from the investigation of DPWH due to conflict of interest, as she is the wife of Public Works Secretary Mark Villar.
Meanwhile, DPWH Assistant Secretary Mel John Verzosa said they are tracking down a certain “Alex” who was claiming to be part of the department’s own task force against corruption to solicit information by phone from district engineering offices purportedly for audit and investigation purposes. Verzosa heads the task force. He said the impersonator was using mobile number 0963 254-4485.
“For confirmation of official members of the task force and for reporting of similar incidence or any suspicious transaction, the public is advised to coordinate with the Office of Asec. Verzosa thru +632-5304-3301,” Verzosa said.– Jose Rodel Clapano