Robredo: PACC should’ve been first to probe alleged corruption during pandemic

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday said she believes the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) should have been first to look into the questionable procurement of supplies used during the COVID-19 pandemic as it is their foremost mandate.

“I think [the] PACC has been there for quite some time, it’s not a new body. Sa akin lang, ang dami nang dapat imbestigahan even in the past, even before the pandemic. Hindi ko alam kung ano yung mga corruption controversies which were investigated by PACC already but that’s their mandate from the very start,” Robredo said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel.

(I think the PACC has been there for quite some time, it’s not a new body. For me, there are many things that should have been investigated even in the past, even before the pandemic. I don’t know what corruption controversies the PACC already investigated but that’s their mandate from the very start.)

Pressed on whether the PACC should probe issues surrounding the Department of Health’s management of funds, and personalities linked to government deals like Chinese businessman Michael Yang and former Budget official Christopher Lloyd Lao, Robredo said: “Dapat nga sila nauna, dapat sila nauna kasi ito yung mandato nila e.”

(They should have been first because that’s their mandate.)

“Bakit ngayon pa lang sila magsstart? Kung ito ang mandato, dapat ikaw yung unang nakakakuha ng information about it,” Robredo added.

(Why only start now? If this is the mandate, you should have been first to get information about it.)

Yang’s name had floated in recent Senate investigations for his supposed connection with Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corp., the company that bagged a bulk of government contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Malacañang has since clarified that Yang, President Rodrigo Duterte’s former economic adviser, had no influence in COVID-19 supplies.

Meanwhile, Lao has also been grilled by senators for the purchase of allegedly “overpriced” face masks and face shields during the onset of the pandemic. He was also linked to Senator Christopher “Bong” Go which he and the lawmaker vehemently denied.

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