Aguirre: Absolutely no corruption under new admin

DAVAO CITY—The administration of presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte will launch an absolute crackdown on corruption, vowing to spare no one in the effort, even outgoing government officials.

This was disclosed on Wednesday by incoming Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre who also vowed to make Duterte’s campaign promise a top priority when he takes the helm of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on July 1.

“He told me ‘Vit, absolutely no corruption.” It’s very important to him,” said Aguirre, Duterte’s law school classmate and fraternity brother, when reached by phone on Wednesday.

Among those on his hit list are officials accountable for the implementation of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), President Aquino’s economic stimulus program that the high court had partially stricken down as unconstitutional.

He said the DOJ would undertake its own investigation and make recommendations to the Office of the Ombudsman, the agency mandated to go after erring state officials.

“We can give the results of our investigation to the Ombudsman… We have a very capable and very good Ombudsman,” said Aguirre, in reference to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales.

Aguirre said it would be “a good idea” to meet with the Ombudsman to discuss the anticorruption campaign.

Asked if pursuing cases on DAP would mean running after Mr. Aquino himself, Aguirre said: “I will not say anymore. But what he (Duterte) said was that whoever [is found liable], it’s that simple. Just apply the law.”

In its ruling on DAP, the high court had rendered unconstitutional cross-border transfers of savings, turning “unobligated allotments” from different agencies as savings and withdrawing them before the end of the fiscal year, and the use of unprogrammed funds without certification of the national treasurer under DAP.

The high court, however, allowed the DAP-enabled augmentation of funds for unprogrammed projects as long as they fall under general allocations under the national budget.

“Since the Supreme Court had already made a determination, then I have to file cases if I find evidence. It’s as simple as that,” Aguirre told the Inquirer.

“He (Duterte) told me to go ahead, no matter who gets hurt,” said the veteran lawyer.

Also a top priority is cleansing the ranks of the DOJ and its attached agencies, particularly the notoriously corrupt bureaus of corrections and immigration, and DOJ’s own roster of prosecutors.

“I will prioritize BuCor (the Bureau of Corrections). Several raids have been conducted there and they still find contraband. That means the source is from the inside,” said Aguirre.

He also promised to go after corrupt prosecutors, saying he himself was a victim. He cited his recent experience with prosecutors asking for money in exchange for favorable resolutions on cases he handled.