MANILA, Philippines — Name names. Show proof.
ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Eric Yap, who is also the House appropriations committee chair, said on Thursday the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) should release the names of congressmen allegedly involved in corrupt activities in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) so as not to disrespect the Congress as an institution.
Yap made the remark after PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica alleged that some lawmakers appeared to be in connivance with supposed corrupt officials at the department, or that “DPWH district engineers are bullied by congressmen.”
Apart from giving their names, Yap challenged Belgica to also present concrete evidence to bolster his claims.
“Unang-una, sana nilabas niya ‘yong mga pangalan ng congressmen na involved and kung may ebidensiya siyang concrete, ilabas niya. Kasi, pag hindi ka naglabas ng pangalan, para mong sinabi lahat ng congressmen, lahat ng senators involved diyan,” Yap said.
“Ang point ko, napakaraming matitinong congressmen, congresswomen, semators, e unfair po ‘yong ginawa niya,” he added.
PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica and ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Eric Yap
Not providing the names or presenting concrete evidence means disrespecting the Congress as an institution, Yap said.
“So ang point ko lang po dito, yong institution ng Congress at ng Senate ang binabastos nung nagsabi ‘nun. Ako, kung sasabihin niya walang-hiya ako, salbahe ako, mahilig ako sa babae, sa lalaki, wala pong problema sa akin ‘yon kasi personal ko po ‘yong tinitira niya, okay lang ako doon,” Yap said.
“Pero kapag ‘yong insitituion po ang titirahin niya without proper evidence, without naming names, e hindi po ano ‘yon, hindi po nakaktuwa ‘yon kasi ‘yong insitusyon mas matanda pa po sa atin ito. The institutiton deserve the respect. ‘Yong sa ginawa niya parang hindi niya nirespeto ang Kongreso at Senado nun,” he added.
Asked if the House will conduct an investigation on the alleged involvement of some congressmen in the anomalies in DPWH, Yap said it would be better if the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will be the ones to do it.
“Mas maganda po ‘yan ang mag-investigate po sa amin ‘yong DOJ. Kasi di ba para naman hindi naman unfair. Kasi kung kami, baka sabihin na naman, o wala naman na kayo naimbestigahan. Para walang masabi sir, mas maganda hindi po sa House,” Yap said.
Speaker Lord Allan Velasco earlier said he was “saddened that some congressmen and the institution” have been “dragged” into the alleged corrupt activities in various government agencies, particularly in the alleged irregularities at the DPWH.
President Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, has ordered the DOJ to extend its probe on corruption beyond the DPWH mess, to cover the entire government bureaucracy.