Legislators among those linked to corruption, says DOJ chief

MANILA, Philippines — The anticorruption task force that President Duterte created has received complaints about the supposed involvement of some lawmakers in allegedly irregular government transactions, Justice Menardo Guevarra said on Saturday.

Guevarra, who was tasked by the President to head the Task Force Against Corruption, also confirmed that almost all of the purported irregularities involved infrastructure projects.

He, however, declined to identify the lawmakers since the task force, led by the Department of Justice (DOJ), would still have to process the complaints filed with them.

“We can’t mention their names until we have validated that the allegedly [irregular] transactions in which they are said to have participated are backed by substantial and credible evidence,” Guevarra told the Inquirer.

“Most, if not all, of the transactions subject of these complaints involve public works projects,” he added.

Asked how many legislators were named in the complaints, he said: “Just a few as of this time.”

“As of the previous week, I distinctly remember that the number was less than five,” he said.