President Duterte, in a radical move, has created his own anticorruption commission with the power to investigate presidential appointees, even those outside the Executive branch, who might have been involved in graft and corrupt practices.
As part of his crusade against corruption, Duterte has created the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission through Executive Order (EO) 43. The commission is mandated to assist the President in investigating and hearing administrative cases on graft
and corruption involving presidential appointees.
The commission will be administered by a chairman and four commissioners, all handpicked by the President. Aside from this, the members of the commission shall be comprised mostly of members of the Philippine bar and must have been practicing law for at least five years.
Under EO 43, the commission shall have the authority, on complaint or motu proprio, “to hear, investigate, receive, gather and evaluate evidence, intelligence reports and information” in administrative cases against all presidential appointees. The authority must be in coordination with the Office of the Ombudsman.
Aside from presidential appointees in the Executive branch, the commission can also look into presidential appointees in the military and police ranks upon the instructions of the Commander in Chief.
The most powerful the commission can get is “to conduct lifestyle checks and fact-finding inquiries on acts and omissions” on presidential appointees outside of the Executive branch. The commission can then submit a recommendatory action to the President on the basis of its fact-finding inquiries.
In the exercise of its functions, the commission may also enlist the aid and support of law-enforcement agencies and other government instrumentalities for the acquisition of necessary documents, or to participate in the conduct of the investigation. It may also ask the Department of Justice to place vital witnesses under the witness-protection program.
Upon the filing of a complaint or charge, the commission may recommend to the Chief Executive the issuance of a preventive-suspension order, most especially if the case may lead to the removal from office of the respondent. The preventive suspension shall persist until the commission lifts the case, but shall not exceed 90 days, unless the
delay is caused by the negligence of the respondent.
According to EO 43, the President found it necessary to create the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission so as to pursue the administration’s mandate to eradicate graft and corruption in the government. The creation of the commission comes at a time Duterte is at loggerheads with the Office of the Ombudsman, which has been conducting an investigation into the alleged bank accounts of the President.