DOJ-led panel goes on full gear vs corruption

Menardo Guevarra

MANILA, Philippines — A multiagency panel that President Rodrigo Duterte created to stamp out corruption would be in full gear during his last 11 months in office, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Tuesday.

Guevarra, who was tapped by the president to head the Task Force Against Corruption, said the body would soon deputize state prosecutors and Commission on Audit personnel as resident ombudsman of certain graft-plagued government agencies.

He pointed out that the panel, led by the Department of Justice (DOJ), had limited authority since it was only established through a memorandum circular issued by the President.

During his sixth and final State of the Nation Address on Monday, the president admitted to having fallen short of his campaign promise to eliminate corruption within the first six months of his presidency.

Duterte, who had assured voters that there would be “no corruption” in his administration, and a number of his appointees had themselves parried allegations of corruption since he was sworn into office in 2016.

In his annual address to Congress, the president boasted of implementing freedom of information in the executive department, conveniently disregarding the fact that he had rejected all requests for a copy of his own statement of assets, liabilities and net worth since 2017.

Guevarra said Duterte was “honest enough” in admitting that weeding out corruption in the bureaucracy was impossible, adding that the public should do its share in unmasking erring public officials.