MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief Carlos Cao Jr. and Commission on Audit commissioner Heidi Mendoza were among those cited by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), as it recently recognized the significant contributions of government workers and officials in the continuing fight against crime and corruption.
Cao was cited for his vigorous campaign to institute reforms and moral renewal at the POEA, which emboldened several employees to expose alleged anomalies, with one employee even surrendering P2 million – that she gained from padding “job orders”– to the National Treasury.
Mendoza was honored for her no-nonsense advocacy to fight corruption, including her exposes on alleged anomalies at the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“The very essence for giving out these awards is that we are recognizing their contribution, first in cases initiated by VACC, and secondly, to give faith or maintaining the faith of our people in the criminal justice system however rotten it is,” VACC chairman Dante Jimenez said.