ANOTHER 50 to 80 government officials face possible dismissal due to alleged irregularities in the performance of their duties, according to the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC).
PACC Commissioner Greco B. Belgica said the executives are now undergoing investigation in his cluster alone.
“There could still be more from the other clusters in the PACC,” Belgica told the BusinessMirror in a ambush interview. PACC conducted on Thursday a briefing to render its first anniversary report since it was formed by Executive Order (43 in 2017.
In a press conference, PACC Chairman Dante Jimenez reported they were able to get a total 411 cases from March 2018 to September 2018.
However, only 59 of the complaints were verifiable, or had the necessary accompanying identified complainant, and supporting documents. The unverified complaints are either undergoing screening or have been forwarded to other government agencies.
The government agency with the most number of verifiable complaints was the Department of Public Works and Highways, with nine cases.
It was followed by government- owned and/or -controlled corporations with seven cases.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Finance were tied at third place with five cases each.
Coming in fourth were the Department of Agriculture, Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Department of Transportation with three cases each.
Jimenez urged the respective heads of these agencies to police their ranks to realize President Duterte’s campaign promise of eliminating graft and corruption in the government.
“Why wait for the PACC to move? You police your own ranks. We cannot this alone. Let us help the President,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez admitted that corrupt practices in the government are now “systemic” and may take much effort to wipe out.
“That is why I challenge Congress to change the government system because all branches of government are ridden by corruption,” Jimenez said.
At least 25 ranking government officials have been dismissed through the intervention of the PACC since it was established last year. Belgica said the dismissed public personnel include five executives with secretary to assistant secretary positions.
The remaining 20 were mid-ranking officials with positions of directors.
Among the most prominent of these forcibly resigned officials were former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and former Labor Undersecretary Dominador R. Say.
In April Aguirre announced his resignation due to “loss of public trust” following the controversial dismissal of the case of Peter Lim, Kerwin Espinosa and other high-profile drug suspects.
“Sec. Aguirre was asked to resign because of our case,” Belgica said.
PACC also recommended the sacking of an assistant secretary at the justice department and the suspension of three prosecutors.
On that same month, Say also resigned amid corruption charges hurled against him.
“The President heard first hand the P6.8-million extortion incident which resulted in the forced resignation of Undersecretary Say,” Belgica said.