EDITORIAL - The entire government, except…

In a speech recorded earlier but televised only yesterday morning, President Rodrigo Duterte directed the Department of Justice to look into allegations of corruption in all agencies of the government.

“I hope all government workers, officials are listening. This is a memorandum from me to Secretary Menardo Guevarra. The subject is investigate all allegations of corruption in the entire government. All,” he was quoted as saying.

But somewhere down the line, it seemed President Duterte was quick to hint that there are some people who should not be touched, one of them was Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, whom he does not blame for the alleged widespread corruption in his own department.

“I have nothing against Secretary Villar. (He’s) one of the hardworking (people in government) and he has many accomplishments. But you know accomplishments alone, to me, should not suffice,” President Duterte said.

To be fair, no accusations have been brought against Villar, so we have to assume his hands are clean. But any investigation into the alleged widespread corruption allegedly taking place in his department may not be complete without looking into the activities of its top officials.

The second person is, of course, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.

“Would I just obey the cry of one million as against my assessment na si Duque walang nanakaw kung pera ang paguusap… maybe some other things, he might be (in) some other things. But corruption, pera? Wala,” President Duterte further said.

Let’s hope that when President Duterte says the entire government he means everyone in the government.

Don’t get us wrong. We aren’t pointing fingers or saying something is anomalous. Nothing has been established.

Let them go through any probative process. The purpose of any investigation is to reveal any wrongdoing or any irregularity. If indeed Villar and Duque have nothing to hide, then President Duterte should not be afraid to include them in any possible investigation by the Department of Justice into alleged irregularities in their respective departments.