Velasco wants corruption allegations vs lawmakers brought before Ombudsman
MANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco reiterated other lawmakers’ longstanding call for the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) to bring its corruption allegations against congressmen before the Office of the Ombudsman.
“Pursuant to due process, we believe that the matter should be brought before the Ombudsman, given the limited jurisdiction of the PACC over officials in the Executive Branch, and not those in the legislature,” Velasco said in a statement on Tuesday.
President Rodrigo Duterte, citing a report from the PACC, identified nine lawmakers in a televised address on Monday night as being involved in corruption, but couched this revelation in caveats, saying “there is no hard evidence” to back up the list.
Lawmakers in the list and Velasco leaned heavily on this pronouncement by Duterte, underscoring that they enjoy the presumption of innocence until their conviction or acquittal.
RELATED: No evidence backing corruption list, tagged lawmakers say
Velasco, citing reports, also said that it appears that the PACC has not verified the allegations against the lawmakers as those accused have not been invited for questioning.
“It is important that the concerned officials be given the chance to respond to the allegations of corrupt practices. Due process dictates that a thorough investigation be conducted to determine whether there is probable cause or evidence to support the charges against them,” he said.
Deputy Speaker Henry Oaminal, Reps. Eric Yap, Josephine Ramirez-Sato, Alfred Vargas, Paul Ruiz Daza, Geraldine Roman, Alyssa Sheena Tan and Angelina Tan, and former Rep. Teddy Baguilat were all included in the PACC’s list which Duterte finally read after months of hesitation.
They all denied the accusations hurled against them and vowed to cooperate with any investigation.
Duterte’s revelation of the PACC list came after he revealed that some members of the military have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, which prompted some lawmakers to accuse his administration of using the list as a diversionary tactic, an accusation denied by Malacañang. — Xave Gregorio
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