Senatorial candidate and former Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) commissioner Greco Belgica.
MANILA, Philippines — Senatorial candidate Greco Belgica said the government removed over 800 government officials from duty during his term as the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) commissioner and chairperson under President Rodrigo Duterte.
But in return, he has received numerous threats on his life due to his anti-corruption campaign.
“From the beginning, ganoon na po ang experience ko, hanggang ngayon. ‘Di ko na po pinansin lahat ‘yun. I just did my job and leave it to God. If it’s your time, it’s your time,” said Belgica.
“Nabantaan po ako, pinapupuntahan ng tao, tinatawagan. Pinagsasabihan. Pero wala kaming kinakatakutan, hindi po ako nagyayabang.”
Occassionally, he would receive threats before visiting government offices and controversial sites.
“Minsan mga govt offices, o merong abusadong opisyal sa probinsya, pinagbantaan po ako ‘pag pumunta daw ako sa lugar nila. Pumunta naman ako sa lugar nila, ginawa ko yung gagawin ko,” he said.
Belgica said that aside from the 800 government officials that were fired due to corruption, the PACC also sent 24 individuals to jail.
All in all, they were able to address 13,000 cases nationwide.
“Pinakamarami po ang nagawa namin against corruption kumpera sa lahat ng administration,” he said.
“Because of that maraming napigilang corruption sa Pilipinas. Dahil wala pong government official ang hindi natakot mahuli ng Pangulo at PACC into corruption at maexpose at makasuhan.”
But there is much work yet to be done, said Belgica.
“The Philippines has one of the weakest anti-corruption law and anti-corruption structure,” he said.
If he gets elected, Belgica said he will make sure that reforms will be put in place to remedy the problem.
“Palalakasin ko po yan, lalagyan ng Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement group para maging mas maging proactive ang kampanya natin laban sa corruption. Magkakaraoon ng bantay ang buong bureakrasya ng gobyenro para pigilan ang corruption,” he said.
He added that the anti-corruption drive can further be strengthened by strengthening the justice system. Government must invest in the justice system so it can hire more judges, build more courts, hire more prosecutors and investigators commensurate to the cases filed within their areas of jurisdiction.
Begica said he will for push these reforms despite the threats.
“Di naman ako takot mamatay, ilang beses ng kumatok ang kamatayan sa pintuan ng buhay ko, pero binuhay parin ako ng Diyos. Kaya inalay ko na ang buhay para paglingkuran siya at ang bayan, and if it’s your time it’s your time,” he said.