Sen. Cayetano: Aquino gov’t short in chastising past admin

MANILA, Philippines—Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano has found the Aquino administration “lacking” in holding the past administration accountable for its alleged corruption.

Almost a year after President Benigno Aquino III took office, Cayetano said his administration has yet to put a closure to the scams of the Arroyo government.

“Holding people accountable is an effective deterrent against future abuses to power. It is the only way we learn,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

“When a person is removed from office, charged and incarcerated, we send a message that crime does not pay. If not, they will just resort to better timing or hiding,” he added.

While it is only right that the government go after the “big fish” in graft and corruption cases, Cayetano said there is also a need to go after the small fishes who are tasked to do the paperwork necessary to commit the crimes.

“If we look at the scams that happened during the administration–fertilizer scam, ZTE, swine scam, etc.–no one is held accountable so far. And worse, we are only focusing on the mastermind,” he said.

He specifically cited the alleged massive cheating in the 2004 election, in which some of those who had been linked into the controversy remained in government.

“How important is it to Malacañang to go after the evils or the sins of the past administration?” Cayetano asked.

“If the Garci boys are still present and even promoted here in Comelec, who’s to say that the Fertilizer boys and the Swine boys are not roaming at large at the Department of Agriculture or in other agencies? Or the ZTE boys still lurking at NEDA and DoTC?” the senator added.

NEDA is National Economic Development Authority while DoTC is Department of Transportation and Communication.