Mega task force seeks complaints on corrupt execs

MANILA, Philippines — The Mega Interagency Task Force Against Corruption that President Rodrigo Duterte has created may receive complaints directly from the public about corrupt officials and practices in government agencies, the body’s spokesperson, Justice Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay Villar, said on Wednesday.

“The public can be asked to give tips, complaints or any information about activities that are illegal and corrupt in government agencies, and if they have personal knowledge, meaning they were the ones who saw or heard the corrupt activities they’re reporting, they can be summoned as witnesses if a case would be filed against the person that they reported,” Villar said at the televised Laging Handa press public briefing.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) official added that if persons who want to report a corrupt activity would be afraid to do so because of possible retaliation or fear about their personal security, they could be covered by the DOJ’s Witness Protection Program (WPP).

“The WPP will protect them so they should not worry and they would not be abandoned by the DOJ,” she said, adding that whistleblowers in various corruption cases, such as those in the Bureau of Immigration, are currently under WPP’s protection.

Villar said the secretariat could also review reports of the Commission on Audit as well as previous investigative pieces of the media pertaining to corruption.