No need for anticorruption body–Lacson

Former senator Panfilo Lacson. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—There is no need to set up an anticorruption commission, according to the man widely believed to head such a body if one were to be set up by President Aquino.

“There is no need for an anticorruption commission because the Priority Development Assistance Fund, which had been a source of corruption and patronage politics, has been rendered unconstitutional,” said former senator Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday at a forum hosted by another former senator, Joey Lina.

The anticorruption commission was envisioned to run after corrupt public officials and their associates.

Lacson said the Interagency Anti-Graft Coordinating Council (IAAGCC) that was created following the exposure of the P10-billion PDAF or pork barrel scam allegedly masterminded by Janet Lim Napoles could do the job of an anticorruption agency.

The PDAF or pork barrel of senators was P20 million a year. Some senators have been charged with plunder for allegedly taking hefty kickbacks from their PDAF after channeling it to fake groups led by Napoles.

Lacson also praised the National Bureau of Investigation for its “splendid job investigating scams and the misuse of public funds.”

He described the NBI probe of the pork scam as “effective and credible.”

Corruption charges

The NBI is set to file Thursday with the Ombudsman corruption charges against a second batch of lawmakers and government employees linked to the misuse of the PDAF.

Lacson, who refused to use his pork barrel and instead called for its abolition when he was in the Senate, also congratulated the scam whistle-blowers’ lawyer, Levito Baligod, for preparing the case that led to the declaration of the PDAF as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Baligod was also a forum guest.

“What I tried to do for 12 years, you (Baligod), the whistle-blowers and the NBI were able to do in four months,” Lacson said.

But he urged the NBI not to be selective of those who will be charged.

“It would add to the credibility of the investigation if allies of the President were to be included, but if there’s no evidence against them, charges should not be forced,” Lacson said.

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