‘Medyo hilaw,’ PACC chief says of Pacquiao’s corruption claims

FILE PHOTO: Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Commissioner Greco Belgica. Senate PRIB file photo / Henzberg Austria

MANILA, Philippines — The accusations of Senator Manny Pacquiao against some government agencies are still not conclusive at this point, the head of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) said Monday.

PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica noted that Pacquiao has already concluded that corruption was happening in some agencies even though he has yet to start an investigation.

“Medyo hilaw pa po ngayon ‘yung kay Senator Manny dahil wala pang imbestigasyon, meron nang conclusion,” Belgica told ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.

(His accusation is not yet complete because he already made a conclusion without conducting an investigation.)

“Hindi po conclusive ‘yun… Kapag nagconclude ka, ibig sabihin naimbestigahan mo kaya magsasampa ka ng kaso. Ganun sa amin. Kapag nagsampa kami ng kaso, may conclusion na kami kasi based on evidence and investigation, ito ang resulta, so conclusive kami,” he said.

(That’s not yet conclusive. When you conclude, it means you have investigated that’s why you are filing a case. That’s what we do. When we file case, we already have conclusion based on evidence and investigation. We are conclusive.)

Among the issues raised by Pacquiao is the alleged irregularity in the distribution of the social amelioration funds through Starpay, an e-wallet application used by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The senator claimed that Starpay failed to distribute the funds fully — with P10.4 billion of the social aid supposedly missing even though it was noted that all of the payouts have been completed.

However, Belgica said Pacquiao should pinpoint which exactly he wants investigated about Starpay.

“Maraming concerns regarding sa Starpay. ‘Yung app ba, pagkakakuha sa kanya, nakapagdownload at di nakapagdownaload, ‘yung perang naibigay? Alin po doon ang tinutukoy niya na korapsyon? Nasa kanya kasi ang burden to prove his allegations dahil siya po ang naglabas nito,” he added.

(There are many concerns with Starpay. Is he referring to the app, why it was chosen, the number of those who downloaded it, or the money distributed? Which part is he calling out for corruption? He has the burden to prove his allegatons because he was the one who raised this.)

“So we want to see. Ano ba ang sinasabi niya dahil kami sa PACC may trabaho na kaming ginagawa po. Kung magpapatulong siya sa amin, he has to clearly say na ito ang kailangan niyong gawin. Otherwise bintang ‘yung dala-dala niya pa and it is not conclusive. Nothing is conclusive right now,” he added.

(So we want to see. Which part is he calling out for corruption because we are already doing our job at the PACC. If he wants our help, he has to clearly say what he wants us to do. Otherwise, what he has now is not conclusive. Nothing is conclusive right now.)

Meanwhile, Belgica said there are now over 9,000 complaints received by PACC regarding the distribution of funds under the special amelioration program, which Pacquiao claimed was marred with corruption.

He said the concerns have already been addressed by PACC, with concerned barangay officials required to answer to the Department of the Interior and Local Government and to the Office of the Ombudsman.

EDV